New Millennium
by Shooting Star Sky Saint
Summary: When Ed suddenly reappears after his kidnapping and torture, something about him has changed. He's no longer the same caring person that everyone knew, now his mind is warped and only a monster remains. Full summary inside. A little RoyEd & singing
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: When Ed suddenly reappears after his kidnapping and supposed torture, something about him has changed. He's no longer the same caring person that everyone knew him as, now his mind is warped and only a monster remains. Now its up to Al to stop his brother's bloody rampage while also try to help him regain his senses. Only Al and his new alchemy skills can help his brother now. Maybe some RoyEd I'm not sure yet but there is a strong possibility. **

**A/N: In the following chapters Ed and Al have their bodies back and I'll fill in everything else for you all later on in the story.**

Prologue to Zero

The man ran even faster down the bustling sidewalks of Central, he saw that he couldn't lose this dog of the military that only came closer to him with every step he took. Damn that kid is fast, he knew he couldn't outrun him but maybe he could lose him. In a haste the man quickly turned the corner and entered an alley but that didn't stop the certain state alchemist that was catching up to him.

A grumble escaped Edward Elric's lips as he increased his speed to catch up to his running culprit. He turned the corner and followed after his culprit with a grim expression he sighed. Why do they always run? They shouldn't even try to escape because know one can outrun the Fullmetal Alchemist. But still running seemed like a wasteful talent for scum who break the laws and run away from their consequences, so to make this go faster. Ed stopped running and clapped his hands, he slammed his hands on the ground and immediately blue sparks of lightning spread and pressurized the air. The blue sparks trailed along the walls around them then began to protrude and wrap around the man.

The man stopped frozen in surprise as the concrete material wrapped around his body and kept him immobilized. Damnit! Was all the man could think of. Edward pulled himself up and smiled slowly he walked towards the man while saying, "Come now, did you really think you could get away?" In Ed's mind he was pretty much gloating to himself about the successful capture. Standing face to face with the man, he stood on his toes to reach the man's height, Edward smirked and said, "Did you really think you could outrun the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

The man in response spat in Ed's face. Ed kept the smirk on his face and wiped the spit off his face with his sleeve, "Well that was very immature." He simply said. The man just turned his head and started trying to break free of his concrete snare. Ed waved a finger in front of his face and said in a sleazy tone, "Ah Ah, I wouldn't try that if I were you. You should be smart enough to know that if you move around in that too much you could seriously end up injuring yourself." The man stopped struggling then let his head slump down, then that's when Ed heard it: a small giggle escape the man's lips. The giggle turned into a full-scale laugh as his head rose to the sky and hollered out the mad laughter. Ed took a step back cautiously, the laughter became soft and silent in a way as the man turned to face the teen. "Can I ask you something, why are you a state alchemist?"

Ed cringed. What was the point in asking if he could ask him a question if he asked him anyways? "I don't see how that is any of your business." He snapped. "Come on just tell me I'm curious." The man urged on. "I'm not telling." Ed snapped again in a more frustrated tone. The man snickered, "Okay fine I was just curious about why a kid would join up with a filthy military and agree to be their dog."

"Just so you know this kid is 17 years old and going on 18 next week." Ed grumbled then added, "Now be quiet already I have to go and-"

"No Edward Elric, I'm afraid you wont be going anywhere." The man suddenly interrupted him with a content frown on his face. Edward turned back around to face the man but as he did he felt a prick sting the side of his neck. Ed reached to his neck and felt something embedded in it, he grasped the strange object and with a moan he jerked it out of his neck and raised it to his face. His eyes caught sight of what looked like to be a tranquilizer dart.

A twinkle of Ed's blood started to create a miniscule bubble on his neck as he rose in attention to the spot where the dart was embedded. Immediately Ed could feel the poison begin to take affect as it flowed to every part of his body, first his limbs fell weak and useless then the rest of his body caved in to the effect of the drug. Ed fell to his knees and looked up at the man who was still ensnared in his trap. "Damn- wha- what… did… yo- you do to…. Me…?" His motor skills started to shut down. Soon his consciousness would fall as well.

The man's frown turned into a brilliant smile. "I told you, you're not going anywhere. You are our property now." Behind Edward a couple of men started to creep into the hallway. Damnit, Ed could only and hardly think. This… was… a… trap…The men circled all around him and looked down on him, some had sneers on their face and some had frowns but to Ed they were all the same.

Ed finally collapsed on the ground as darkness started to creep into his vision. "You belong to us now Edward." He could only hear the man say. The darkness left only a spec of light for him now.

"You're our little monster now."

Darkness finally consumed him but before his mind fell into a deep sleep, he unconsciously thought,

Did… he….say… little…?

The alchemist fell silent and still.

** I'm going to try to multi task again since I'm out of school for the summer. Hope you all like the first chapter. **

**Stay awesome!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1/ Recollections to a Beginning

It was the very next day after Edward Elric's disappearance that Al began to worry. He knew that the Colonel had him do an important mission to capture an escapee criminal but he knew it wouldn't take a whole day, Al waited another day but his brother still didn't return. So he went to ask Colonel Roy Mustang if Edward had checked in or saw him. Roy had responded, "No I haven't seen Fullmetal in two days, why?" Al told Roy about his worry but Roy just chuckled and said, "Relax Alphonse he's probably just out somewhere. He'll show up eventually."

But then a week went by and that's when the Colonel's suspicions started to arise he went to ask Al if he's seen Ed yet. Al was in the middle of his alchemy training when he asked but he responded with saying, "No I was hoping he would show up like you said but I haven't seen him yet."

Another week went by and that's when Roy sent out search parties. The strange thing was that when he started asking people if they had seen a small blond kid with a red coat some of the citizens answered yes, but what they said afterwards was what disturbed him.

"Ya this small kid was walkin' with these two men." One civilian had said and then he pointed to across the street. "They was walking over there. To me the kid looked a little dazed, but hey what do I know about kids!" The man then went about his business.

"Oh yes," an old lady said. Lt. Riza Hawkeye paid close attention to what the woman was saying. "A young blond boy was being carried by an older man the boy looked asleep and exhausted. The man who was carrying him seemed a bit heavy and mad, but I was probably just imagining that! These old eyes aren't what they were before!" she laughed and continued watering her garden.

This time Alphonse went to ask people and he came across a young woman around the age of 30. "A small blond boy with a red coat? Never seen anyone like that." The woman started to walk but her husband who was at her side said, "What are you saying dear? We saw a boy like that just yesterday." Alphonse struck to attention, "Really? Where!" he voice an anxious mess.

The man looked at the boy and said, "He was sitting outside on the sidewalk. When we walked past him we thought he was homeless so we gave him a couple of cenz, but then the strangest thing happened…" the man didn't continue.

"What? What happened?" Al asked in his anxious voice.

"The boy stood up with the cenz in his hand and gave it back to us," the woman continued on for her husband. The look on her face seemed struggling as if she had to choke the words out of her, "When he gave it back to us he looked straight into my eyes and said, 'Thank you for your concern but where I'm going I wont need money' when he said that his narrow golden eyes pierced straight into me and I saw something terrifying… it was like a mixture of Hell itself and something else… maybe a scream for help or…" The woman stopped and looked away, she couldn't continue anymore. Al sighed but was glad for the woman's confession, "Thank you, this helps a lot." And he left the couple with the great information.

When everyone got back together in Mustang's office to tell of their statements they received they were all different. Falman had said that Ed was lying unconscious on the ground. Fuery said that he was seen on top of a roof laughing like a maniac. Havoc said that he was seen with a gun pointed to someone in a robbery. Breda said that he was seen teaching a school of children. Armstrong said he was seen dazed and possibly drunk around a club at night and lastly Hawkeye, Al, and Mustang told of their statements. They were all different and completely unrelated to each other but the main conclusion that was reached was the main focus and fact:

Edward was still in Central.

That was what kept their hopes up of finding him so without a minute to hesitate they all continued searching. Al on the other hand spent most of his time searching and training on his new alchemy skills. Mustang had become a little worried about the young Elric's health but somehow he knew Alphonse would be okay, he knew because Al would not exhaust himself to the point where he would have to stay in bed for a long time.

Another week went by and they had no leads. Only more statements about seeing the older Elric around Central. Even the criminal that Edward was after had not been seen, that started to worry Roy a bit. Yet it was still too early to give up on finding him.

Yes they were certain they would find him eventually.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2/ Beginnings to a Recollection

The young boy sat in a chair with his head held down and his golden eyes bolted to the ground. Everything around him was white. The floor was white. The walls were white. The ceiling was white. His vision was white. White. White. White. Not a hint of another color was seen around him, except his clothes. He was wearing a black long gown that went to his knees and covered his malnourished body. He had become extremely skinny and weak ever since that day…

What day was it?

What is today?

Where was he?

Who was he?

The name… Edward Elric came to mind… yes that was his name. It seemed to be the only thing he could hang on to. It seemed to be the only thing the youth could clutch on to in order to keep what sanity he had left.

_Tick_

_ Tick_

_ Tick_

That noise again. The noise of a clock, tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. There was no clock in his room so where did the noise come from? Yet another question left unsolved.

The men had let him out to roam outside. They said it was for an experiment, it felt good to be outside. It felt good for his skin to burn in the presence of the sun, it felt good for the wind to blow through his golden hair, overall it felt good.

Another noise entered his ears. Ah they're here… the youth didn't look up, he already knew the man who had entered his white room and who was standing right in front of him.

"Look up now." The man's voice was calm and healthy with only a hint of command. Edward obeyed and looked at the graceful man in front of him. Silver long hair and pure blue eyes seemed to mesmerize Edward; his body seemed in good shape as usual in that white coat he was always wearing. "Good, now can I ask you some questions?"

Edward nodded,

"Good, lets begin." The man said as he crouched down to Ed's height. "Do you know your name?"

The youth hesitated at first but then answered, "Edward Elric."

"Yes that is your name. Do you know what others call you?"

Edward fell silent. The answer was swarming in his mind he just couldn't grasp it, he couldn't see it. His mouth opened but no words came out. He was losing it, there were too many mind altering experiments done on him to actually remember anything else besides those two single words that he clung onto so much. The only other thing in his mind was two figures. One was a younger boy with a smile on his face who somewhat resembled him and the other was an older man with dark hair and a grim but warm smile on his face. Yet he couldn't remember them. Why couldn't he remember? He wanted too yet he couldn't. He hated that.

Ed rapidly shook his head and groaned. The man sighed and continued on, "Never mind, do you know my name?"

Ed stopped shaking then looked at the man once again, "Primo… Xenos"

"Yes! That's good, now what are you?"

"Human?"

"Yes but more specific!"

Ed thought long and hard and finally got the answer, "An… alchemist?"

The man nodded. "Yes you are. You're human, an alchemist, and what else?"

"Else?" Ed cringed. Human, alchemist, and… What else? Ed's blood began to pump rapidly in his veins, his heartbeat accelerated with every shallow breath he struggled to take. His head began to spin in every direction. His stomach wanted to follow after the confused brain but ended up twisting in pain. Ed clutched the pained area and panted roughly. Then that's when it started once again, he unusual chanting that Primo has heard before:

"Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Edward Elric Human Alchemist Edward Elric Human Alchemist Human Alchemist Edward Elric Edward Elric Edward Elric Edward Elric Edward Elric… _Human alchemist Edward Elric…"_

Then it began once again. The strange inhuman noises that slipped from the boy's mouth.

"_Chomp, Snarl, Gurgle, Gulp, Chomp, Snarl, Gurgle, Gulp, Chomp, Snarl, Gurgle, Gulp." _

Primo sighed. "I think that's enough for today Edward." Primo stood back up and started to walk away, "We'll continue this tomorrow." And he vanished.

Ed never understood how he did that but in a way he didn't care. He had to remember. He had to remember the most important thing to him…

But what was it?

He could hear the voices outside; he could hardly hear what they were they saying. Something about 'Multiple personalities' and 'This experiment will work' and 'Do your job right' then all the arguments turned into high pitch screams.

Ed didn't mind at all. He was after all, a nobody in this room.

Yes, was anyone even caring if he was gone? But who was anyone? He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember anything and it hurt him. Yet in his mind the blond mysterious youth who resembled him was yelling something at him… he could hardly hear but he could make the words out slightly…

_"Happy… Birthday… Brother…"_

Ed shrank back into his chair and sat silent as small tears slid down his face. He clutched himself and waddled back and forth repeating, "Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday…"

And once again he fell into the mesmerizing white vortex that tore a part of him away everyday.

In a faint unheard whisper a small voice pleaded, "_Someone, help me…"_

The boy fell still as he continued his chant, "Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday…"

_Happy birthday, my sweet monster…_

… **I'm going to enjoy writing this! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back! Time for reviews!**

**Perseus46: Thanks for the comment and I'm sorry to say that I am going to make a small part of this story RoyEd but also another part will be EdWin, confused? Sorry cant reveal anymore! But don't worry the RoyEd part wont be all intense! Or maybe I'll change my mind about that… I'm very indecisive but still thanks!**

**Mylaervain: Thanks and here's an update for you! Hope you like it!**

**Mysterious- Becci-D: Yes I can be evil at times… but only when I want to. Heh, writing cliffhangers are so much fun! But anyways, thanks for the comments and hope you like this!**

Chapter 3/ A Distinctive Look

"It's already been six months Colonel and there is still no sign of Brother anywhere!" Al shouted in frustration. He slammed his hands on the Colonel's desk and glared straight into his eyes, even though it was out of character for him to be so angry at one time. "What the hell have you been doing all this time!"

Roy returned Al's glare with his own and softly said in the calmest voice he could manage, "Alphonse you need to calm down, we're searching high and low for Fullmetal but so far we have no other leads besides those witness statements." Roy paused for a second then remembered what he saw last month, "and that brief sighting of him…" he trailed off as he remembered the miserable failure him and his team had at catching him.

"Well it looks like you're doing a great job at searching!" Al responded sarcastically as he pushed himself away from the desk and sat down furiously on the couch with his head held down. A terrible sigh of depression blew past his lips as words followed after it, "… For all we know Brother could be dead already…"

"Don't say such a thing!" Roy shouted as he rose from his chair and slammed his own hands on his desk. "You know that Edward is not dead! We all know! So don't go saying crap like that as if its time to give up!" Al looked up surprised at the Colonel's outburst. "Look Alphonse I know you don't believe that Fullmetal is dead and I know that you're worried about his safety too but if you keep spilling crap like that then you'll just end up feeling doubtful!" Al stared at the Colonel for a second then sighed again, "Damn its just that I'm…" he didn't finish.

Roy sat back down and calmed himself. He folded his arms and said, "Alphonse, just have a little bit more patience with us and I promise you we'll find him yet ok?" Al turned back to Roy and half smiled, "Ok."

"Good. Speaking of which, how is your training coming along?" Roy asked in a curious tone.

"Its good but I'm still not getting the exact hang of it yet." Al answered.

"Oh? What was it called again? That alchemy, was it-"

"It's Tune Alchemy." Al said with a hint of dignity.

"Tune Alchemy? Hm, never heard of it but its nice that you're learning something new."

"Ya I guess it's nice," Al looked up at the clock on the wall and quickly said, "Sorry but I have to go now…" Al stood up and started to walk towards the door but before he left he said to the Colonel, "Goodbye Roy."

"Calling me by my first name? That's bold."

Al snickered and left. Roy stared at the door for a second then relaxed back in his chair. "Ya that's really bold kid…" he closed his eyes and thought about Edward. Is it my fault that Ed's vanished? He thought, I was the one who assigned him that mission when he vanished. Day after day they looked for any hints or evidence that Ed was still around and they came to the conclusion that Edward was still in Central, but the problem was where? They had literally turned Central upside down searching for the missing alchemist but their efforts ended with a terrible and drastic result: nothing. They even went as far as too send troops to search around the perimeter of the city and even assign troops to stand out at the border to check any suspicious characters that might enter. But all that work ended in zero results. No changes. No evidence. Nothing. And it annoyed Roy to his very core that they found nothing. It sickened him to know that Edward was somewhere around here but they just couldn't find him. After all, to him Edward was like a…

Roy opened his eyes and stood up out of his chair, he turned his attention to the window behind him and looked down at the many civilians who were walking on the sidewalks. Odd, there's a lot more people out then usual, Roy thought to himself. His eyes wandered over to the right and there in the street was a crowd of people around a car and a space in front of the automobile. The crowd seemed to grow with every minute that passed by, what was going on down there?

At that instance the door slammed open and hit the wall behind it, through it came a panting Lt. Hawkeye. Her hair was a little wild in the front and her face was a faint red with exhaustion she stood up slightly straight and saluted the Colonel, "Sir! Its Edward!"

At the sight of his lieutenant and the hearing of Fullmetal's name Roy jumped to attention and sounded, "At ease Lieutenant, now what about Fullmetal?" Riza huffed, "He's here!"

Roy's heart almost skipped a beat. Edward was here? Just like that? No, he had to see this for himself. "Show me Lieutenant!" Roy ordered. She nodded and led him downstairs to the main lobby. At the entrance Riza stopped walking and gazed her direction to two young men Roy stopped and followed that gaze. There he saw Alphonse hugging a golden haired stranger, Roy strained his eyes for a better vision of the stranger but when he caught sight of the man's face, his stomach jumped into his throat.

The stranger who was returning the hug to Al was no other then Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Al looked as if he was sobbing in his brother's chest and Ed buried part of his face in Al's hair. "Brother… where were you all this time…" Al choked out through streams of tears, "I missed you." Ed hugged harder and closed his golden eyes. Only fours words escaped him that set the mood to a sweeter reunion, "I missed you too."

Words were caught in Roy's throat, he couldn't manage to express what he felt at this moment but what really wanted to come out were questions begging to be answered. When did you come back? How? Why? And what happened to you? But he couldn't get the words out.

"Well if it isn't Colonel Bastard." Ed mused as he walked towards the Colonel. Roy snapped out of his thoughts and scanned over Edward and he was surprised. Ed was wearing a white shirt that was covered but not hidden by a spiffy, dark blue jacket, on his bottom half was dark blue pants and on his feet were fine black men shoes. And his hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "And Lieutenant Hawkeye, you're looking as lovely as ever."

Hawkeye flinched at the sudden compliment, "Oh thank you Edward…" Ed looked back at Roy and smiled, "What's wrong Colonel? Cat got your tongue?" Ed turned back to Al and asked, "Speaking of cats, you wouldn't have picked up a stray while I've been gone have you?" Al wiped his eyes and shook his head. Ed smiled, "Good because we're not taking care of another-"

"Fullmetal!" Roy said so suddenly that it even startled the people around him and himself. He stared straight into Ed's eyes and ordered, "Come to my office now!" He turned to Al and added, "You too Al." Ed and Al nodded in unison and followed the Colonel as they walked to his office. Lt. Hawkeye was behind the two brothers and Roy when they were walking and could only see the side of Edward's face as he was talking to Alphonse. She felt a little relieved with Edward suddenly back in what seems to be perfect health but that's what disturbed. It was all too quick. Edward's sudden reappearance didn't fit right in her mind. She kept her eyes on Ed carefully with interest and worry, and that's when she saw it.

Ed turned his face in her direction and smiled a sarcastic smile. His eyes weren't like before when they met in the lobby, no they were something else. They were lowered to a half open style and his golden pupils only revealed half of their mesmerizing new dark light, those pupils slowly moved to the direction of Riza and when they locked onto her own eyes they revealed something within them that Riza had never hoped to see. Something dark and pure evil… as if the Devil himself was within those golden eyes… it was almost repulsing to say the least and urged the Lieutenant to regurgitate. But strong willpower kept her stomach essences inside her. In the instance of that eye encounter Riza froze in fear. Her body stopped working and refused to move a single step no matter how much she forced herself too. It was as if she was facing Pride again and had to face his strong bloodlust. She was frozen in place with her hands shivering and her heart thumping, Ed was still looking at her with those half dead eyes and sarcastic smile. And that's when she asked herself a question that set off within her mind:

Who the hell is this?

**Yep, I am totally going to enjoy writing this. Oh! Explanation time! First lets start with Ed's look at the end of this… to all of you who have either read or watched ****Naoki Urasawa's Monster ****and have seen Johan when he smiles, that what Ed looks like. I kind of got inspired by that show to make this story. I recommend that show to anyone who wants to watch a good anime, its pretty intense and will leave you at the edge of your seat when an episode is done. Trust me I fell out of my seat when I was watching it…**

** The second thing is Al's mention of "Tune Alchemy". What is Tune Alchemy you ask? I'm not telling you yet. XD. But I'll give you a hint… if you've played the game ****Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes- Encore**** (I also recommend this too anyone who wants a good game app on their Iphone, Ipod, or Ipad) then you'll know what Tune Alchemy is… well actually that's a lie. Its not exactly what it is in the game, it's a lot different in the story but its something like that… ok, I'm just confusing you all aren't I? Sorry! Until next time! Thanks for reading! And thanks for reviewing!**

**Stay Awesome!**

**(And watch out for crazy cats on the street… I swear one attacked me the other day and it was just flat out random.)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4/Intitutional Emotions

"Hm? Lieutenant Hawkeye is everything okay?" Edward asked as his smile quickly dropped to a worried frown. Startled by hearing his voice Riza quickly regained control of her body and answered, "Yes, yes I'm fine!" Al looked back at the Lt. and asked, "Are you sure? Your face is a bit red." Riza answered again, "Yes I'm fine." Roy didn't look convinced by her answer as he turned around to get a glimpse of her. Riza's expression was a bit tense in his eyes and she looked a bit worried but there was something else in her face, another emotion but he couldn't figure it out…

Roy gave up on it but before he turned back around to lead them to his office he eyed his lieutenant and analyzed her expression once more. "Come." He ordered once he was done and continued to walk.

When they finally got to his office Roy closed the door and stood face to face with Edward. "Tell me Fullmetal," Roy sighed as he gazed straight into Ed's golden mellow eyes, "where have you been?"

Edward gazed back at the Colonel and smirked, "Truth be told, I don't even know." Edward raised his hand from his side and looked down at it. To Roy it seemed as if Edward had slipped off into a daze but that wasn't the case, it seemed as if Edward was lost in… something. "I don't know where I've been over these last few weeks."

The room fell intently silent. The silence was broken by Al's cry, "Brother you've been gone for months not weeks!" Edward turned to his brother and gave him a confused look, "Months? No Al, not that much time has gone by. It can't be…"

Roy stared amazed at Ed. He had claimed he had only been gone for a few weeks but it's really been six months! How could Ed think that he's been gone for just weeks! Where ever he was must've altered his sense of time or something because he was clearly lost in time. Roy coughed and cleared his throat, "Fullmetal, I know you just arrived here and know that you probably want to have a happy reunion with everyone but I need you to tell me everything that has happened to you from the _very _beginning." He scooted in closer to Edward's face and added, "and don't leave out a single detail." Roy backed away from Edward and went back behind his desk; he sat down with Riza standing behind him.

Al immediately reacted, "Colonel! Don't you think that's too much for him! He just came back and-"

Ed turned to his brother and smiled again signaling him that its okay and stopping him from continuing his sentence. Al saw this and made a light groan, he didn't want Mustang to pressure his brother, after all for all he knew Ed probably wouldn't want to talk about his six-month absence. It could bring up bad memories. But Al couldn't deny that he himself was curious about where his brother had been and if something had happened to him, yet Ed looked in good health and his texture wasn't bad looking… maybe nothing happened at all.

Ed stepped forward and in a surprising turn of events he took off his jacket and yanked off his shirt. Riza, Roy, and Al eyes widened as they saw Ed strip down. "Fullmetal! What are you-!" What Roy saw next shut him up and left a horrified expression on his face, both Al and Riza shared his expression. Ed spread out his arm so that could reveal the whole part of his bare chest and looked humble at the Colonel, the smile on his face dropped into a content frown while his eyes closed as if he was going deep inside his mind. Scars from his automail port were still in place by his right shoulder but seemed like nothing compared to the rest of Ed's upper torso. Across Ed's chest were two scars that made a giant X that seemed ragged and still unhealed they intertwined with another scar that was on his abs and once again interfered with another unhealed wounded scar on the right side of his chest. On Ed's right shoulder was a single number that was grafted into his somewhat raw skin, it was barely visible but Roy could make it out as if it was a cat in a dog convention: 0, that was the number.

Ed then turned around to reveal his bare back and all of their horrified expression intensified at the bad condition of the young alchemist's skin. Surprisingly his skin was a dark shade of gray on his left side and numbers of scars crossed through his skin and seemed to get deeper with every scar that intertwined with the other. Roy couldn't help but notice the odd shape of Ed's left shoulder blade and the deepened density of its skin structure, possibly his shoulder was dislocated on something might've cracked it. A sigh was heard from Ed as he turned back around and snapped everyone out of his or her view by saying, "Does _this _explain enough?"

Al was almost up in tears but struggled to keep them back in the face of his brother. Emotions swirled and twisted within him at the sight of Ed's terrible condition. He felt as if he was going to explode. He couldn't let the tears fall from him, not now he couldn't. Seeing his scarred brother like this and crying just because he was in this condition was a pathetic reason… not when his brother had been through **this **… no he had to be strong and not show his own sorrow but instead maybe show pity for his brother.

Roy felt his own voice fail in the mist of Ed's words. _Does this explain enough? _ The scars… clearly they were from a whip but still there's so many on them. The wounds looked as if they were unattended to any medical help whatsoever; he had to have had an infection somewhere in his time. But would that explain his partial gray skin? An infection could've caused that but then what about his shoulder? It was ganged up and looked almost disposable, what could've caused that? Roy found his eyes wander upward just below Ed's chin and found that on his neck his skin was of a different color. It was a mixture of a light gray and an ominous dark… silver? In that color there was something engraved in it, but it was too hard to make out. Roy eyes then wandered over to that number engraved into Ed's right shoulder, what was that number for? Zero… maybe an experiment number? Or was it just a cruel objective to tattoo on the boy's skin? Roy looked up and glanced at Riza, her expression of shock was just as bad as his.

Roy finally caught hold of his voice and tried to sound strong but his voice betrayed him once again and he ended up stuttering, "… Fullmetal, was this…"

"Torture? Yep pretty much." Ed finished for him as he started to put his shirt and jacket back on. "You don't do what the people holding you captive want you to do and you end up being punished." Ed's eyes then narrowed to a half style and two inaudible words escaped his lips. Al followed his brother's mouth and found out what those two words were. _Bad Edward… _what did that mean?

"Do you know who was holding you captive?" Roy asked, his voice rising back to its normal tone.

Ed's eyes turned back to their normal full golden size as he looked at the Colonel and answered, "I don't know except that it was a group of men and some women and also that escapee I was suppose to catch before all this." Roy's eyes went wide again, "Isaac Hellnik!" he burst out much to Riza surprise. Ed cocked his head, "That was his name? Never would've guessed it." Ed then closed his eyes and put his hand to his forehead, "There was another man… what was his name? Um, I think it was Primo Xenos…" Ed groaned and opened his eyes, "I can hardly remember anything that happened to me except for the torture and…"

Riza looked back at Ed and asked, "And what Edward?" Ed's hand dropped down to cover his mouth as if something was going too come up. His eyes grew wide and disgusted as his forehead wrinkled and his body started to tremble Ed slowly removed his hand from his mouth with his other, his mouth opened slowly as gasped of breaths escaped him in a ragged way. Al saw that his brother couldn't continue with this, it looked as if he was on the verge of hyperventilating. Al walked over to his brother and put his arm over his shoulders as they went up and down with every breath Ed tried to grasp. "Its okay Brother, you don't have to say anymore." Al shot Mustang a glare that could kill; Roy caught that glare and understood what it meant. _No more questions for today. If you ask him one more thing I'll make sure that you never say a single word again, got it? _

Roy chuckled a bit. "Okay Alphonse, you can take your brother home with you but make sure that-"

"Colonel! We got a problem!" shouted a panicked Havoc who just burst through the door. "Two people have just been ran over by a car and…!" Havoc stopped dead at the sight of the blonde haired who stood in the room with a surprised face. His cigar fell out of his gaped open mouth as the stuttered words he forced out reached everyone's ears, "Edward… you're back… how? And when?" Ed smiled warmly at Havoc and said, "A little while ago actually."

"Second Lieutenant Havoc, what were you saying?" Roy asked, cutting off the short and shocking reunion. It took Havoc a moment to take his eyes off of Ed but finally he had enough will to do so, he turned back to the Colonel and saluted him, "Oh um yes! Two people have been ran over by a car and one of them died in the collision but the other is still alive and trapped under the car!"

Roy immediately stood up from chair and walked out in front of his desk. _Was that what all those people were outside for? _He thought while saying, "Take me to them Havoc!"

Havoc nodded. He turned back around but not before taking one last glimpse of Edward.

"I'm coming too." The voice of Ed announced much to everyone's shock. Ed smirked at their expressions and said, "Oh come on! You can't keep the Fullmetal Alchemist down!" Roy grinned at Ed's sudden wanting involvement then beckoned him, "Well then hurry up Fullmetal!" Roy turned back to Havoc and signaled him to continue on showing him. Al was beside his brother all the way; there was no way he was going to leave him again… especially when he just got him back.

Havoc led Roy, Riza, Ed, and Al outside to the middle of the street where Roy had seen all those people crowding around that car. And the crowd was still growing. Luckily Roy managed to push his way through the terrified and anxious crowd of people, he made a path for the others to follow. When Roy got to the front his eyes again grew wide at the sight of the poor victim that was trapped under the automobile.

It was a man around the age of 30 or so. He had silver long hair that was stained by the dark color of crimson and his blue eyes were wide in shock and pain, his body seemed to be impaled by a rail that fell off the car while his leg was stuck in a flat and painfully odd position under a tire. The man's teeth were clenched tight as if he was trying to avoid screaming. Roy looked beside the trapped man to find a dead man he knew all to well in a bad way. "Isaac Hellnik!" the Colonel shouted but turned his attention back to the bloodied man, he bent down and looked for a way to get the man out of his predicament. Riza looked to the side of her and found a doctor with his head held down. The doctor caught her gaze and sighed, "Until you can get that off of him, there's nothing I can do."

Ed, Al, and Havoc stayed to the side as they watched the Colonel find a solution. Ed felt his heart beat wildly within his chest as his breaths became shallow and thin, he knew this trapped man from somewhere… yes he knew him but from where?

"Be strong," Roy told the man, "you're going to be okay." The man glanced up weakly at the raven-haired man and took heavy and rough breaths. His body was shuddering from the increasing pain; he didn't know how much more he could take. His eyes wandered behind the young blonde boy who was behind the man who was helping him. He knew that boy, he knew that boy all too damn well…

Edward thought harder at where he had seen this man then it clicked in him… _You can look up now. This man had once said. Now, I'm going to ask you some questions._

_ Did you know people could be whatever they want to be?_

_ Yes! That's very good!_

_ Welcome, my little monster…_

Ed's eyes grew wide with a strange feeling of terror within them. He dropped to his knees, which worried Al immediately, "Brother? What's wrong?"

Ed clutched his head with both his hands and uttered two single words, "… Primo… Xenos…"

The man's eyes grew wider with fear and terror as memories of what he had done flooded into his mind and laid themselves out right before his eyes.

So much blood… too much of that crimson color. It was too much for one man to see. _Do well I did. _The voice of a child said. _Made happy I want. _His grammer had been too altered for him to form a decent sentence.

_Want more fun… wasn't as much fun as I thought. _

That crimson color finally took hold of his sight. Making everything turn a deep dark red.

At that moment the man saw it. A new feeling of terror filled him and completely took hold of his being and sanity.

"A demon!" the man shouted in fear and anguish. Roy tumbled over at the man's outburst and looked to Riza but to his surprise her eyes were also wide with an unexplainable shock. Ed screamed in trembling terror, Al and Havoc jumped in alert at Ed's continuing banshee scream. Roy turned to the screaming boy and asked himself, "What the hell?"

What happened next startled him and everyone else around the screaming alchemist and the trapped victim.

**Damn… I think I'm going to take a long break now. But before I do: sorry about being so late everyone! I'm going to try to get the next chapter of my other story up by Saturday and get the next chapter of this story up by Sunday…**

** By the way I need more encouragement and would love to find out how you all think of this story so far so please review and tell me what you think. Rather its good or bad, I'll be able to take it. :D until then…**

**Stay Awesome!**

**And don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Review Time!

Mysterious- Becci- D: I love making cliffhangers now! I am so evil with this! Mwa hahahahahahahahahaha! But anyways, thanks and hope you like this.

Joker Oak: Thanks and here's an update for you!

Cledism is my religion: Thanks and I always strive to be a great writer. It makes me happy when someone says I'm a great writer! And trust me when I say, this story is going to turn dramatic really soon… Enjoy!

**And to all my other readers! Hope you all enjoy this!**

Chapter 5/ Intervention

Roy sat worried and still next to the unconscious Edward who was lying in a hospital bed, his eyes scanned over the young man's body and fell upon the oxygen mask that was giving him life air. Ed's eyes were closed and his body remained unmoving, only his breathing and intake of the oxygen was the true proof that he was getting better. But still what happened before didn't sit well with Roy. It just didn't make any sense… "Fullmetal, why did you…" Roy whispered.

At that moment the door to the room opened up and a blond nurse came through it. She was carrying a chart in one hand while the other was holding a syringe, she looked to Roy and smiled, "Don't worry Mr. Mustang, Edward will be fine." She went over to Ed and got out the syringe she saw the worry in Roy's eyes and said, "Don't worry about this either. It'll just make him sleep a bit more, it should wear off by tomorrow." She took hold of Ed's steady arm and searched to find a blood vessel, she found the right vessel and injected the medicine into him. Ed's face stressed for a second then returned to a calm blissful expression, Roy's body tensed up a bit when he saw that stressed face. Usually he would never worry so much but what he witnessed back on the street made his every being anxious with every minute that passed by. The nurse took the syringe out and threw it away in a hazard bag; she smiled at the Colonel then left the two alone.

Roy sighed and laid his head down in his hand. Everything that had happened up to this point was almost too much for him to take. First Edward mysteriously returns out of nowhere, second there's the question of why he can hardly remember anything and who inflicted those lashes upon him, and third why he took such a drastic action in the street that led to his hospital attire. None of it added up, all it did was add stress to Roy and Alphonse. Roy sighed again, all he was thinking about was himself who he should really be thinking of should be Al. He had been searching for Edward ever since he had disappeared- or should he say **kidnapped**, since they all knew now that Ed was taken and had not just vanished. Al had been worrying about his brother so much that it was starting to take a toll on his health but he had overcome that and continued searching. But when his brother finally shows up… THIS happens!

The door to the room opened once again but this time Al came through it with Riza and Havoc behind him. "We're done Colonel Mustang." A hardly audible Alphonse announced, he looked to his brother and frowned sadly. "Why would he try to do that?" asked Al as shivers took control of his body.

Roy stood up and let his hand lay on the young teen's shoulder. In a soft calm voice he said, "Alphonse, you have to remember that he's been through a lot, he probably wasn't in his right mind." _Or something in him might've snapped. _The Colonel thought but didn't say out loud.

"Still! He shouldn't have done that! He's still Brother and what he did was-"

"Alphonse!" Riza shouted this time, she huffed and said, "Just be grateful that you're okay… and that he didn't hurt you fatally."

Al was on the verge of tears. His voice was caught in his throat and was blocked off by the tears that begged to be released from the poor boy's soul. Al went over to his unconscious brother and gasped out, "Brother… why would you…" He couldn't continue and the tears got their wish. They streamed down the boy's cheeks and fell onto the stagnant face of the blond; Al bent over and let his feelings take control of him.

Havoc clenched his teeth with the cigarette still in his mouth and tried hard not to remember what had just happened, but Roy on the other hand remembered it all to clearly. Roy reached into his pocket and took a glimpse at the disk and recording tape that he obtained during the tragedy. His mind then wandered off to the accident- no, the tragedy that had occurred right in front of their eyes…

_The trapped victim who's was none other then Primo Xenos started to thrash about and scream even louder, the cracking of broken bones and ripping of flesh sounded uncomfortably in the area. Roy turned back to the victim and looked in horror as the man was literally ripping apart his own body. Rather it was intentional or accidental Roy knew only one thing at that moment. "Stop it or you're going to die!" But the man didn't listen and another scream came to Roy's attention. This time it was not only Ed's but Al's as well. _

_ Roy turned back to the blond and gasped in horror while his eyes grew wide with shock. Ed was on his knees with his hands wrapped around Alphonse's neck and his scream tuned down to an angered growl. Al's eyes grew wide with terror at the face of his brother; his eyes were narrowed with pure hatred and his teeth were bared and clenched as the disturbing growl reached his ears. Al tried to grasp what air he could but his own air was leaving him and darkness was creeping into his vision. "Bro…ther…why…" Al could feel his body become weak and just before he could feel the darkness finally consume him he heard his furious brother growl,_

_ "You bastards! I'll kill you all! I'll make you all pay for making me into this!"_

_ Just as Al was about to fade into darkness Havoc interrupted Ed and grabbed hold of his hands, as quickly but less forcibly as he could he yanked the hands off Al's neck and grabbed hold of the wild Edward. Ed screamed and shouted while thrashing and kicking Havoc, he snarled and started to become wilder than he was before. Finally Havoc couldn't handle the teenager and let him go, the teen dropped to the ground and glared at everyone, including the terrified bystanders, with a burning sense of hatred. Al coughed and regained the air he had lost, Havoc went over to Al and shielded him with his body while his eyes traced Edward. Riza already had her gun out and pointed at Ed she warned, "Edward, don't make me do this! Just relax and hold your hands up!"_

_ By the time all that happened Roy was still trying his hardest to keep the scared man from damaging himself any further, but Roy knew this man was beyond saving. His blood was already making a pool and was soaking the soldier's boots. Roy looked at the man once again and tried one more time to calm him down but to his surprise the man grabbed hold of his wrist and squeezed tightly, Roy winced at the surprising strength the dying man had left. The man opened his mouth and gasped out a fair and blood curdling warning, "Beware the monster! He's not what he's seems! He did this to me! Did this to us!" Roy suspected he was talking about Isaac Hellnik, his dead companion. "He'll kill us all! Was a mistake! This was a mistake!"_

_ "Wait, what are talking about and what is your name?" Roy asked frantically as he felt the man's hold weaken._

_ "That boy! Don't fall for it! Don't let him hear you scream!" the man coughed up his blood and wheezed, with what little life he had left he told the Colonel, "My coat pocket… a recording and DVD you must take it! That is the only proof left that we existed! Please for the sake of us all destroy the monster!" The man coughed up more blood while his eyes faded and became blurry and less focused, "For us all… destroy the monster…" his hand that once held the Colonel so firmly fell into the pool of his own blood and his body fell lifeless. _

_Roy was wide-eyed and shocked but what happened next littlerly sent chills down his spine. "Edward! Put your hands down now!" the screaming voice of Riza pierced the air and shook Roy out of his confused and shocked daze, he turned around and his mouth gaped open at the sight he saw. Edward had his own hands wrapped around his throat but it didn't look like he applied much pressure, at least not yet he didn't. "Edward put your hands down now or I'll have to shoot you!" she warned one more time but the warning didn't seem to get through to Edward._

_ Ed's face remained calm with a smile on it and his eyes were in that same sarcastic style that scared Riza to her core. "Fullmetal! Do as she says! That's an order!" Roy shouted even though his own voice might've betrayed his firm order. _

_ Al and Havoc stared terrified at the alchemist's position. "Brother! Don't!" Al shouted even though his own voice hadn't fully recovered. Ed turned to his brother and mouthed three words that for some unexplainable reason sent chills down his spine. Ed's grin grew wider as he finally applied pressure and squeezed his throat until he started gagging but strangely the smile on his face remained. Riza found herself unable to shoot him but instead started charging at him before he completely suffocated himself. Before she got the chance to tackle him Roy beat her to it and slammed himself on the ground with Edward in his grasp. Roy coughed and got off the teen when he realized he wasn't moving, Ed was successful at choking himself. Roy growled at the frustration of it all. "Riza call an ambulance!" he ordered. "There's no need. There's already one here." Riza managed to say while pointing to the coming nurses with a stretcher, "but what about that doctor that was just here a minute ago." _

_ Havoc helped Al up and answered, "He left here a while ago." Al watched the nurses lift his brother's body on the stretcher and put him in the ambulance. He tried to follow after them and get through the crowd of people but Riza said to him, "You need to stay here Alphonse." Al turned furiously around to face her, "Why!" She looked to the coming policemen who looked as if they needed some questions answered about what happened here. Al sighed, he knew fighting with Riza wouldn't solve anything so he said grudgingly, "Okay fine." He looked to his brother and said mentally, please be okay brother…_

_ Roy on the other hand had reached into the dead man's coat pocket and took out the two items that the man had instructed him to get while he was still alive. Normally he would never do such a thing but under the circumstances and his own curiosity he had decided to take the man's last words for truth. He shoved the items in his pocket and started to run to the ambulance where Ed was already being treated._

_ "Sir!" Riza scoffed as he caught her eye. "Take care of this for me Lieutenant!" He ordered then turned to Al, "And I'll make sure you're brother is alright!" Al nodded and the ambulance took off to the hospital._

Roy shoved the items back into his pocket and at that moment the nurse came in and announced sadly, "I'm sorry to say but visiting hours are over for today."

Al stood up straight again and wiped the tears away from his eyes. He nodded and left the room; Roy thanked the nurse and followed after Alphonse with Riza and Havoc behind him. "Alphonse wait!"

Al turned around and said coldly, "I'm going home." He then started to run and before Roy knew it he was already out of his view. Poor Al…

Riza and Havoc caught up to Roy. Riza sighed and advised, "I think we all should be going home now." She looked out the window and the sky was a slight dark, revealing that it was almost night.

"Yes, I think you're right Lieutenant." Roy sighed; _I could really use a drink right about now. _

**Yep, I decided to end it here instead of continuing. Trust me if I continued this would've been too long, but for now I'll stop here. Maybe I'll have the next chapter up tonight, or maybe not, I don't know right now. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Remember to review and tell me what you think, or tell me anything rather its good or bad I can take it, and also remember to**

**Stay Awesome!**

**Next chapter I'm going to reveal what was on the DVD and recording. And Ed's words to Al.**

**And I have no idea if they have DVD's in the FMA world but whatever. It's my story!**__


	7. Chapter 7

Review Time!

Perseus46: Here's another update for you! And thanks! :3

Mysterious-Becci-D: And you got mentioned again! And thanks for saying I'm good at cliffhangers, I think I get better at them every time I write one. Here's more excitement for you! :3

The Snow Crystal Alchemist: I feel bad for doing all this stuff to poor Edo… ;( But what can I say! In my mind he seems really hot! :D Here's a chapter for you too!

**And to all my other readers… hope you all enjoy this!**

**Warning: This chapter is pretty much a past kind of scene, so it may seem boring at some points of the story.**

Chapter 6/ Words Alone

Roy sat at the edge of his bed with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a tape recorder in the other. He had been thinking about it for a while now and he finally decided to listen to the recording, even though he really didn't want to but his curiosity was getting the best of him. And the gut feeling in him told him that this tape was important. Roy sighed and pressed the play button on the recorder. It started out with a static sound but cleared up to a clear male voice:

**Professor Primo Xenos, Science Log, April 16. Edward Elric has responded negatively to the exercise therapy once again. The boy did the same thing he always does: he started acting primal and like a wild animal. I'm beginning to think that the subject's mind is slowly beginning to devolve into a more… inexperienced species. Yet today when he did act wild this time he snarled and bared his teeth as if he was a wolf, he then started to run away and in the mist of his primal state he climbed a flagpole and refused to come down. When trying to communicate with him through human speech he responds with growls, a most repulsive trait I might add. When the guards got him down from the pole he started to claw at them and even went as far as to bite one of their necks! As a last resort we had to tranquilize him and send him back to his room. When he woke up he had no recollection of the events he caused. End of entry.**

Roy paused the tape and breathed. All that talk about primal and devolving was starting to give him a headache already but the name Primo Xenos echoed throughout his mind. He had heard that name before… where had he heard it… it was so familiar…! He remembered now, Ed had said his name when he was trying to remember the people who were holding him captive! So the man who had died was Primo Xenos and with him was Isaac Hellnik, the two people Edward mentioned. Roy looked down at the tape and pressed play:

**Professor Primo Xenos, science log, April 30. We took the subject around Central and in a strange turn Edward acted calm and patient. Of course we had one of our guards escort him just to be on the safe side. So as a short way to sum this up: no abnormal activity from the subject. It seems our experiments are showing a bit of success. End of entry.**

** Professor Primo Xenos, science log, May 10. Subject has shown a drastic personality change. After making the decision of letting Edward walk around Central by himself, we monitored him of course, his behavior throughout the day changed in an erratic and unpredictable way. The first thing that concerned us was his walking back and forth down the sidewalks, while walking he looked a little nervous and… maybe anxious? He did that at least until noon. The next thing that made us want to pull him out as quickly as we could was when he got on a roof of a building and started laughing like crazy. I started to order a guard to get him and bring him back but Dr. Wilson apposed against it and said that this was a character development stage. I didn't agree at first but I found myself unable to disagree with Wilson's statement. Later on in the day the subject went to a graveyard, he stood in front of one grave for the rest of the day. When we came to get him the grave Edward was standing in front of had the name "Maes Hughes" on it. He then started to chant the man's name and later started acting violent with us again. It is clear to us now that Edward still has memories of his life yet he is as empty as we thought he was. The fact that he didn't run to get help today proves one theory correct: his mind truly is finding it hard to distinguish friend from foe. End of entry.**

Roy paused the tape again. Edward was at Hughes's grave? And what did he mean by finding it hard to distinguish friend from foe? Roy gulped at the thought of listening to rest of the tape, though he didn't want to listen to the stuff this man was blabbering. He had to. He had to figure out what this man did to Edward. Roy took a sip of his whiskey and played the tape.

**Professor Primo Xenos, science log, May 16. We tried a different method of reprogramming the subject today. Our head scientist personally confronted Edward and conducted a treatment he called "Rewrite" on him. He explained to us that he would rewrite the subject's memories and implant a new set of memories, he said since we already made him forget almost everything of his life that this treatment would work. Once he was done with the experimental treatment Edward was unconscious for at least an hour or two and when he awoke he seemed to be mumbling to himself for a while. After a while he stopped and fainted on the spot. End of entry.**

** Professor Primo Xenos, science log, May 17. Edward's behavior has taking a turn to our liking. The treatment that our head scientist used on him seemed to have worked successfully without any side effects or… he'll… why he… forget…**

Roy blinked and cursed. The tape was messing up. Roy shut the recorder off and got out the disk. He looked at it for a second then went over to his DVD player and popped it in; turning on the TV Roy grabbed the remote and played the disk. The first image that showed up was a shivering Edward sitting in a chair and having his arms around his body as if he was cold. His eyes were wide with terror and confusion as they were focused on the fire of a candle that lay in front of him. Those golden orbs looked different to Roy, they seemed almost detached from the world… it was as if they were going over something other then the reality in front of him. Roy immediately had his eyes glued to the screen.

_A single man with short red hair and eyes stood in front of the shaking teen. His expression was blank and the frown on his face seemed almost endless. The man wore a white lab coat that mismatched with the scenery in the dark gloomy room they were in, a single light bulb that was above Ed's head and a melting candle that sat in front of Edward were the only things that brightened the room. The man opened his mouth and asked, "What is your name?"_

_ "Ed…ward… Elric." The boy shivered through chattering teeth._

_ "Yes your name is Edward Elric." The man mused. "What is your mother and father's name?"_

_ "Trisha Elric and… Van Hohenheim." Edward remained shivering while staring off into the candle._

_ "Yes your mother is Trisha Elric and your Father is Van Hohenhiem." The man mused. "What is your brother's name?"_

_ "Alphonse Elric." The teen spoke clearer._

_ "Yes your brother is Alphonse Elric." The man mused, "Where were you born and where did you spend your life?"_

_ "Resembool."_

_ "Yes you were born and raised in Central." The man mused, "Now what happened to your mother and father?"_

_ "Dad… left us and mom… died of a disease…" the boy started to shake harder._

_ "Yes your dad left your mother for another woman and your mom died at the hands of your brother." The man mused._

_ "For another woman…? Mom died by Al… no… he didn't she…"_

_ "Was killed by your brother and you were framed for the crime of murder." The man mused with a slight grin._

_ "Mother was killed… no she… died by…" Ed lost his words when his voice failed him. His head was starting to hurt._

_ "You were convicted of first degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment on Yock Island."_

_ "Me framed? I was… convicted…" Edward focused more on the candle, "of murder and imprisoned on Yock Island."_

_ The man smiled, "Yes you were framed by your brother and convicted of first degree murder and then you were imprisoned but you escaped and planned to bring your mother back."_

_ "Through human transmutation." Edward said ahead of time._

_ "Yes you went back to Central and performed human transmutation but you were interrupted right in the middle of it by your brother."_

_ "Al… no he didn't… I messed… up." Edward seemed to hesitate while saying that._

_ "Yes you didn't mess up." The man mused with a slight bigger grin on his face, "Everything was correct in your formulas and theorems but your brother interrupted the transmutation and as a result you lost…"_

_ "My arm and leg… but Al he…" Edward stammered._

_ "He turned you into the authorities." The man mused, "You were arrested once again and under the order of a man named Roy Mustang you were sent to lab 5 for experimentation."_

_ "Lab… five… experiments on me?" Ed's eyes grew wider and his breathing started to become fast._

_ "Yes the scientists there conducted painful experiments on you." The man mused. _

_ Golden eyes grew wider and more terrorized at the man's words and his own memories. Wait… what memories? They seemed scattered and disorganized. Ed's mind couldn't tell truth from lies, real from fake, reality from illusion, what his mind really wanted to do was shut down and never awake again._

_ "Lab five… murder… Alphonse… mother… experiments… framed…" Ed tried to take it all in. The events that the man told him flashed right before his eyes and sent his mind spiraling to the edge of shutting down completely. Yes he remembered now… his brother caused all this. And that man… Roy Mustang locked him up and sent him to a lab to be a test animal. It all came back to him… the betrayal… the anguish… the misery… it burned inside of Ed and consumed him entirely. He knew nothing else and did the only thing he could manage. He unleashed a blood-curdling scream from his tormented soul and shook even more violently then he did before. The scream was filled with so much pain and suffering that the man could feel it physically. Ed's hands clutched to his head and his nails dug deep into his scalp, the man watched all this with a content smile on his face._

_ Edward stopped screaming when his eyes caught a glimpse of the candle in front of him. The fire flickered and flickered… it burned his eyesight to the very core and right before darkness had him Edward whispered, "Alphonse… why did you do this to me?" Ed's body fell limp and his tired eyes closed. He swayed to the right and collapsed off of his chair and onto the floor; his body and mind finally gave into the fatigue that ravaged him._

_ The man stood over the unconscious teenager and snickered with that prideful smile on his face. "And so another success for today. We'll continue this tomorrow but until then, nighty- night my sweet monster."_

A bottle of whiskey crashed on the ground and shattered into pieces, the liquid that was inside it stained the floor and sent an odor from it. Roy couldn't believe what he had just seen. If this is what those people had done to Ed then there's no telling how damaged his mind could be. But it just didn't make any sense… Edward seemed fine when he first appeared yet that stunt he made proved that he was anything but fine! But what they did to him… they were rewriting his memories! And if they did that to him everyday then…

Roy didn't think anymore. He took the disk out and shoved it in his pocket. Immediately he put his jacket back on and shoes and ran out of his house. His time to relax would have to wait another day but now he had to focus on getting to Alphonse. There was no telling what Edward thought of everyone now.

Meanwhile Al was sitting on his couch reading a book yet he couldn't actually make sense of it. His mind was still focused on the events of today but they were mostly targeted on those words his brother mouthed to him.

_Goodbye Edward Elric._

It didn't make sense but neither did anything that happened today. It was all nonsense except for his brother's arrival… or maybe that was nonsense too. Maybe things weren't like they were meant to be. In a fury Al shook his head and concentrated more on the book in front of him.

But at the hospital a sudden occurrence was taking place. Edward held his hand up and then placed it on the oxygen mask, with all force he yanked it off and took in a heavy breath of pure air. His eyes remained closed and the frown on his face stood stagnant as he slowly sat up, his left leg bent upwards so that his knee could be a resting place for his arm. His back hunched over while his arm rested calmly on his knee, the frown remained but slowly his eyes opened to an unsatisfied half style. Golden orbs pierced the room's darkness and one whisper in the dark was heard from the awakened youth:

"And so I awake."

_And the monster comes out to play._

**That was… awkward to write in the situation I'm in right now but anyways! Hope you all liked it and I hope to see you all next time! But until then,**

**Stay Awesome and don't forget to review!**

**:3 man, I love these kitty faces! :3 **


	8. Chapter 8

Rainwood650: Thanks! All I can say is… I desire a kit kat right now!Btw I like your name… Rainwood makes me think of a waterfall… sorry I'm probably being weird.

The Snow Crystal Alchemist: Here's an update for you! And I kind of do want more reviews, actually my goal is to reach over 100 reviews on one of my stories. :3 That would awesome if that could happen! But anyways thank you!

**And thank you all my other readers who don't review! Thanks! :3**

**A/N: Pay close attention to the bold italics that look like this! If you don't… well I guess you'll be a little confused…**

**Fullmetal Alchemist does not belong to me!**

**And now on with the show!**

Chapter 7/ Awakening Part 1

A long-haired nurse walked happily down the hallway and headed to her patient's room. She was to check her patient's blood and heart rate to make sure that nothing was wrong, but in truth she really just wanted to see him. Her patient was really cute and she hoped that he was awake so that she could talk to him, but before her a previous nurse had gone in to check up on him… now what was his name again… a Mr. Edward Elric she thought. The nurse smiled and squeezed the chart in her hand; she finally reached his room and without hesitation opened the door without even knocking. With a sweet smile she opened her mouth to speak, not even bothering to know if Edward was asleep or not. "Mr. Elric, I'm here to…" Her voice froze in her throat. Her eyes went wide with shock when she saw the empty bed with ruffled sheets, the torn off IV cord that lie useless, and the lonely oxygen mask that was once on giving her patient air.

She immediately ran as fast as she could out of the room and to the front desk where she told her superior of the missing patient.

The furious banging on Al's door didn't stop. It continued on until Al finally got up and opened it. He was surprised to see the Colonel at his doorstep, but more surprised at how he looked. He was leaning forward and panting like a tired dog his face was covered in a layer of his own sweat and his clothes were sagging and drenched in that same essence. Al looked more closely and found a strange brown substance on the Colonel's white shirt; it had a nasty odor to it that made Al cringe. "What is…" Al began.

"Don't ask, please for my sake…" Roy gasped out through breaths of air. "I ran all the way… here and there was a dog… and I tripped…" At the sight of Roy's grimacing face Al automatically understood and tried to hold back the laughter in him but it just ended up becoming a light snicker. It was hard to believe that the great Flame Alchemist had ran and tripped into a pile of dog crap but at the same time it was hilarious to laugh about. Roy looked up at the snickering Al and narrowed his eyes at him. "Al, I have something important for you to see. Its about your brother."

Al stopped snickering and stared at the raven-haired man. "What is it?"

"That's the thing, I can't really explain what it is. All I know is that it's a recording and a tape and it's about Fullmetal." Roy stood up straight and looked down seriously at the young brunette. "You need to watch this now."

Al's lips curved into an embarrassing frown. "Um, Colonel we don't have a TV in our house." Something then struck Al, "Speaking of which how did you find out where we lived?"

Roy cursed. No TV meant that he couldn't show Al the tape, he could still let him listen to the recording but what good would that do? The phone in the kitchen started to ring. "Oh I better get that." Al said, "You can come in Colonel but make sure to close the door." Al then ran into the kitchen and answered the phone.

Roy walked in and closed the door behind him. The house Ed and Al lived in wasn't much it was pretty ordinary actually. It was a typical two-story house with, from his view, a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and there were probably bedrooms somewhere else in the house. The lighting was bright and the decorations in the house seemed to make it feel like an average family was living there. Roy turned his head to the wall and spotted a small picture on it he walked over to the picture and looked a little confused. It was a picture of Edward with a tall red haired man. Edward was looking as smug as ever but you could easily tell he was a little bit happy about something and the guy next to him was smiling and patting Ed on his head. Roy guessed Edward looked that way because the man was taller than him. Yet who was that man?

"Ah, are you taking interest in that painting?" Al smiled with the home phone in his hand.

_ Painting? _ "Isn't this a photo?" Roy asked a little confused then he looked down at the phone is Al's hand.

Al noticed the man's gaze and ushered, "It was the hospital they're putting me on hold right now." Al looked past the soldier and smiled sadly at the picture, "And no this isn't a photo. It's a painting of Edward with a guy he met a few years back. Ed never told me who the man was but he said that he was a dear friend of his." His hand involuntarily went to the painting and his finger touched in between the two men, "Even now I wonder who he is…"

"Hello?" a faint voice from the phone said. Al lifted the phone to his ear and responded, "Um yes, I'm here… yes this is Alphonse Elric… the brother of Edward Elric…yes I am… wait what… what do you mean by that?" Roy listened in. "What do you mean he's gone… no he's not here! When did he leave… you don't know? What the hell!" Roy was amazed by Al's quick temper. "Yes, yes… ok I'm sorry for that I… ok I'll be there… ok bye." Al hung up the phone and sighed. He looked to Roy and said with a heavy heart, "Brother's gone. His room was empty when a nurse went to check up on him and now they don't know where he's at."

Roy's stomach churned. For some reason he didn't like that fact that Edward was missing and no one knew where he was. This feeling he had inside him… it just told him that something was going to happen, but what he didn't know. Al ran over to the sofa and put his shoes back on. "I'm going to back to the hospital." He said while walk-running to the door.

"I'll have to come too." Roy said following the young alchemist.

"Oh Colonel you don't have to and besides you-"

"No, I'm not coming out of modesty. I'm coming because I **have **to." Roy said sternly. His gut was literally screaming at him to go.

"I understand Colonel but you can't go to a hospital with dog shit on your shirt…"

Roy sighed, he had completely forgotten about that. Al ran back into the kitchen and came back with a jacket. "Here, put this on." Roy grabbed the jacket and did so. Roy zipped the jacket up and said, "ok lets go."

Al nodded and opened the door; the two began their way to the hospital in the cold dark night.

**In a land far away, a boy lived in disgrace and humiliation**

Getting to the hospital didn't take long for them. Roy had called Riza on a pay phone and asked her if she could drive (Does Riza own a car? Or does Roy? Or maybe neither of them do. I really can't remember) them to the hospital. Luckily Riza was reluctant enough to pick them up and drive them there so they wouldn't have to walk all the way. When they entered into the hospital it looked like a complete mess. The waiting lobby was empty of any visitors or new patients for once yet there were tons of doctors and nurses who were running around frantically, probably looking Ed.

A young blond nurse approached the trio and gazed at them for a second. She looked exhausted and was holding the nurse hat that was upon her head she looked plenty young to be a nurse and had ivory skin that seemed like nothing compared to her surprisingly golden eyes. She approached Al and said, "You must be Alphonse Elric. It's a pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand and Al greeted it with his own.

Al nodded and smiled. "Its nice to meet you too." The woman smiled back. "By the look of things I take it you haven't found my brother yet."

The woman let go of his hand and let it fall to her side. "No not yet, I am terribly sorry." She looked behind Al to the two grown-ups behind him. "Um if you don't mind me asking who are they?"

Riza and Roy stepped forward. "Riza Hawkeye." She said while extending her hand and letting the nurse take it, they then let go. "Roy Mustang." He said while taking the nurse's hand with a smile. She grasped it and a shiver went up Roy's spine. _What was that? _Roy thought with his eyes wide and his mouth gaped open. The nurse let go of his hand and giggled, "It's very nice to meet both of you."

She turned back to Al. "I'll escort you all to Dr. Fredshay now. He is Mr. Elric's doctor so he'll get you up to date with the situation." She began walking down the hallways with the trio following her. Al's smile dropped back to worried look and with great persistence he grabbed the nurse's shoulder and asked, "Will my brother be okay?"

The nurse didn't turn around to face him. Her eyes remained forward but she answered, "Yes Alphonse, your brother is very much okay. Trust me." She shrugged off his hand and continued walking. Al stood still for a second, letting Riza and Roy get ahead of him, and felt something flicker within him… there was something in that moment that set him off… he didn't know what but the one thing was for certain: that was a hint of fear he felt.

**The boy was shunned by his village and driven out to live in the forest.**

"Al? Al?" Riza touched Al's shoulder and Al shook in surprise of the sudden touch. "Al, are you okay?" She asked with concern in her voice. Al shook off the feeling in his mind and nodded. Riza took her hand off him, "Ok then," They continued to walk.

Roy had watched what had happened behind him but turned his attention back to the front. That gut feeling was getting stronger. It felt as if his stomach essences were about to come up his throat, it was as if a chunk of ice had dropped inside him and was fighting to get out.

The blond nurse stopped in front of an office. She turned to the trio and smiled, "Here you are! Dr. Fredshay's office, if you don't need anything else I'll be leaving now." The nurse started to walk away but before disappearing from their sights the nurse gave Riza a smug look and smirked. Riza turned around and stared at the woman's back as she walked off. _Bitch… _Riza thought.

Al knocked on the door. No one came. He knocked on the door again. Still no one. He tried one more time but nobody came. Roy sighed and looked to Al, "Three strikes and you're out. You have to learn when someone doesn't open the door you have to let yourself in." Roy grab hold of the doorknob and yanked the door open much to Al's surprise. The office was sort of small but contained a sofa, water fountain, and a bookshelf filled with books. At the end of the room a big desk was propped up with a brown-haired man behind it. The man had his face in his hands and seemed to be mumbling to himself, what he was saying couldn't be heard. Roy stepped forth and said, "Hello? Are you Dr. Fredshay?"

The man took his face and glared at the Colonel. "And who are you to be asking?" Roy could've went off on this man for addressing him in such a cocky manner but thankfully Al ran in front of the frustrated man and said, "I'm Alphonse Elric, the brother of Edward Elric."

**The boy cried and cried. "Oh why! Oh why! Why must I suffer!" The boy cried to the Midnight Moon.**

The man's features then illuminated. His bright green eyes grew wide from the tired fatigue that plagued them in his tuned body perked up to a straightened and respectable manner. "Ah Alphonse Elric, yes I will need to discuss something's with you about your brother." The man purred with a smile. He looked to the two soldiers behind him and scowled, "But I will need whomever they are to leave. This is private information."

_Cocky bastard is asking for it… _Roy thought in sheer frustration while trying to hold himself back.

"Um this is Colonel Roy Mustang and Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye," Al told him while looking back at the two and seeing their frustration, especially Roy's. "It's okay if they hear what you're about to say."

Fredshay scoffed, "I don't really care who they are. No matter who it is only you and you alone may listen to this, it's a doctor's code to only share patient information with their family members." He glanced over at Roy and glared, "Even if you are the Flame Alchemist I cannot share this information with someone such as a dog of the military."

That was the last straw. Roy stomped over to the man's desk and slammed his hands on them. "Who the hell do you think you are? Talking like that to us. Edward is my subordinate and my responsibility! If there is something wrong with him then its my business too know what it is!" Roy's voice was laced with venom while daggers shot at the man through his cold dark eyes.

Fredshay looked unfazed by the Colonel's outburst. He leaned back in his chair and sneered, "Do you not know who I am?"

"No and frankly I don't give a crap!" He leaned in closer to the man to make sure that he showed him who was dominant. "Now listen here, you're going to tell us why Edward is missing, how he vanished, and when he did. Damn it we already lost him one time and we just found him! We're not going to lose him a second time!" Riza and Al were awestruck by the Colonel's proclamation. How long had it been since Riza had even heard Roy talk like that?

Fredshay closed his eyes and smiled, "Alright then. Take a seat and lets discuss the problem at hand." Roy huffed in air then exhaled; he reluctantly sat down on the sofa with Al who had already sat down. He glanced up at Riza who was standing. "I'd rather stand sir." She said as an answer to his gaze. Roy shrugged and looked back to the doctor behind the desk.

The doctor cleared his throat and began speaking, "As you all know Edward has indeed gone missing and still hasn't been found yet. As of when he went missing well we could tell that he vanished between the times of 10 pm and 11 pm unfortunately we don't know how he escaped or even if he's still in the hospital."

"Have you at least called the police?" Al asked.

"Now why would I do that?"

Al became instantly furious. "You mean to tell me that Ed's been missing for over an hour and you haven't told the authorities! And what do you mean by 'why would I?' He's my brother and he's missing!"

"Call the authorities for just a single patient? You must be joking. That's blasphemy."

"You bastard! Do you even know who Edward Elric is? He's the Fullmetal Alchemist. A state alchemist at most and you haven't alerted anyone! What kind of scum are you?" Roy shouted in anger.

"I'm the kind who would like to keep up the good reputation of this hospital. And yes I'm fully aware of who Mr. Elric is. He's the so called 'Hero of the People', the one state alchemist who rivals even you Flame Alchemist, and he's the famous Fullmetal Alchemist."

"You're aware of who he is and yet you still haven't told anyone of his disappearance?" Riza yelled in her own fit of rage, "Does keeping your 'good reputation' mean that much to you that you would put an innocent boy at risk?"

"Of course." Fredshay simply answered. _And that boy is anything but innocent… all dogs of the military are anything but innocent…_

"Why you bastard!" Roy shouted getting up in fury and preparing to beat the man up. Even though it was against his wishes Al grabbed the Colonel by the waist and pulled him back.

"Don't do it Colonel." Al sighed still glaring furiously at the unemotional man whose very presence sickened Al, "He's not worth it. Lets just go."

Roy almost refused but if he stayed here then he would end up hurting the bastard in front of him. Roy relaxed his body and nodded he turned to Riza and said, "We're leaving." All three headed towards the door and went through it. Fredshay was left alone in his office once again. He looked up at the ceiling and grimaced. _Damn it! Where could that boy be?_

**The Midnight Moon looked down at the boy. It didn't care for the boy either…**

The trio walked back to the waiting lobby and sat down. "That son of a bitch. How can anyone be so heartless?" Al murmured, not really wanting an answer back.

Roy was in deep thought. He just couldn't understand it all. Ed shows up randomly and now he's gone just like that! Maybe his kidnappers kidnapped him again… but that didn't add up. Ed looked too nice to be kidnapped again except for those scars, unless he was being played and this is just a plan for Edward too… ugh! All that thinking was too much for him to think about right now! Yet he had to think harder. Nothing made sense anymore… it felt as if he was in a big chessboard and someone was just playing them for fools or…!

"Crap! I almost forgot!" Roy said suddenly while his body tensed. He reached into his pocket and felt for the DVD and recording… good, they were still in there. He stood up and looked to the two startled humans. "We need to find a TV and DVD player around here, now!"

**Something had heard the boy's cries and confronted him.**

Outside the hospital on a rooftop not too faraway, two figures stood in the moonlight looking grim. "You sure he'll be able to pull this off?" asked the first figure that was a young man. "I mean, it's been a while already…"

"Don't doubt him!" said the second figure that was a young woman, "He always pull through and keeps his promises…"

"Ya, you're right." The youth giggled, "What was I thinking? Doubting him like that, I feel like such an awful friend!"

"Relax its no big deal now. Lets just get ready for the signal." The young woman snickered, "And you're not a bad friend! Trust me you're awesome and keep in mind about how he thinks." The girl looked at the bright full moon and sneered.

"He always loves to be showy."

** And thus the boy encountered the Monster.**

_Took a while to type this up. Oh well, I'm mentally and physically exhausted so I only have three things left to say…_

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review!**

**:3 Kitty face!**


	9. Chapter 9

Mysterious-Becci-D: If you thought that was interesting… then read this! :3 Thanks!

FullmetalHanyou15: I was thinking the same thing at one point but in truth there probably won't be like BIG romance but there will be romance. And it won't be EdWin! I HATE that pairing so much! I mean Winry's nice and everything but I cant see them getting together. RoyEd is my favorite so maybe… And also I love a deranged Ed! It makes him look hot in my mind! Thanks!

The Snow Crystal Alchemist: O.O man I love this face! Almost as much as this :3! Thanks!

**Not much to say except… Thanks everyone!**

**FMA does not belong to me!**

Chapter 8/ Awakening Part 2

Roy fussed and fought with opening the door that led to an unknown room. He rattled the knob and even went as far as to ask Riza for a bobby pin to break the lock. But the door didn't give up on not letting the stranger enter. "Um, Colonel, I'm pretty sure that if a door is locked then someone doesn't want another person to go in." Al tried reasoning with the persistent man but to no avail did his attempts work.

Roy wasn't even paying attention to the young boy he was to focused on unlocking this damn door. Inserting a bobby pin to crack the lock didn't work and sliding one of his credit cards to slip the door open was futile. (I don't know if they have credit cards either…) So as a last resort he slipped on one of his gloves and snapped. The door caught on fire for a split second and the doorknobs on the inside and outside melted away soon the fire calmed and dissipated into nothing, it left the door with only a few bits of ash and an empty socket where the knobs use to be. It was only pure luck that no one else was around to see what'd he done. A smile crept on Roy's face as he pushed the door open with little effort. He entered the empty room that was once blocked to him and started searching. A bookcase, a desk, a sofa, and a table. That was it. Nothing more.

Roy cursed to himself at the thought of not finding a TV and DVD player yet. In truth it was getting quite annoying. He, Riza, and Al had searched this hospital from top to bottom and still haven't found what he needed. Well he did find what he needed but they were all in public areas where nurses and patients walked by and he needed Al and Riza to see this video in private. "Another dead end." Roy mumbled with disappointment.

"And to think that you practically burned down a door to get in here." Riza said with little enthusiasm but snickered a bit when Roy gave her a cold glare. "Anyways sir, is this video really that important?"

"Lieutenant, this video needs to be seen no mater what," Roy said sternly, "you're going to get a glimpse of what Ed's kidnappers really did to him."

Meanwhile Al was at the empty desk and searched for an identity of who this office belonged to. He looked over paper after messy paper that was laying on the desk in a disorganized way but didn't find an identity. He sighed and walked around the desk. Gray eyes went wide when they landed upon a TV that was sitting on a small desk he turned around and found out that this huge arm chair had blocked the view from the small television set. "Hey Colonel I found a TV."

Roy turned away from Riza and watched as Al pushed the chair away and showed them the small TV. Roy walked over to it and then started searching for a DVD player; the TV would be useless without it. He looked down at his feet and saw a medium sized rectangular box clearly it was what he was looking for. Roy bent down and turned the player on. "Turn on the TV Alphonse." He demanded. "Riza, come over here and watch this."

Riza obeyed her superior officer and did so. Al and Riza, stared intently at the blank screen while Mustang took the disk out of his pocket. "Look, what you're about to see may be a little disturbing and may not even look true. But this really happened and you both need to pay close attention to this. Especially you Al." They both stared down at the raven-haired man and heeded his warning. With a nod of approval Roy popped the disk in and let the unimaginable clip begin.

…

Roy took in a deep breath of air and exhaled it. Watching that video again made his throat dry and his stomach churn. At that moment the urge to regurgitate almost consumed him but his kept his essences back in his twisted stomach. He turned the television off and ejected the disk, putting it in his pocket again Roy looked up to see the horrified faces of Riza and Al.

"What the hell was that…" Al managed to say. His gray eyes were wide with shock and disgust at what he'd just seen. Roy thought the boy's eyes would pop out of his sockets at how huge they were. Al's mouth was gapped open and was trying to close but kept shuddering in sync with the rest of his trembling body, his mouth remained open while his eyes had left the black screen and turned to Mustang. "What was that Colonel? That was a joke right? This video is a fraud right?" His voice showed no effort in trying to mask his emotions they flowed right out and gave his voice the form of fear and disbelief…maybe even anxiety and sadness.

Roy lowered his head and frowned. "Al, that video is as real as can be. It isn't fake, it's real."

"It can't be real!" Al burst out in a fit of rage and sorrow. "Ed was perfectly fine when we first saw him! There's nothing wrong with him! He wouldn't try to harm me or anyone else!" Al's breathing became fast-paced and erratic with every word he said until it left him panting.

"Then how do you explain that little fiasco he pulled out on the streets?" Roy's mind flashed back to when Ed nearly choked Al to death then suffocated himself.

Al was speechless. Words were jumbling in his mind and just wouldn't cooperate with him to get the right sentence out. His voice started to abandon him and his throat grew cold and weak. "Face it Alphonse, something is wrong with your brother. He may be mentally unstable for all we know." the cold dark voice of the Colonel said, in a way it hurt him too to talk about Edward in this kind of manner. He could understand how Al would be feeling right now after watching that repulsive tape.

"Sir… where did you get that disk?" Riza managed to get out.

"Remember when Ed mentioned one of his captors, Primo Xenos, he was that man who was trapped under that car." Roy paused for a second then continued, "He gave this disk along with a recording of what was his science log." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small recording.

"So what does this mean?" Al stuttered finally finding his voice. "Does this mean that Brother is most likely dangerous?"

Silence overcame the room. Roy took in a breath of air and broke the nerve-racking silence, "Under the circumstances right now we have to assume that Fullmetal isn't in his right mind."

Without a hint of hesitation Al ran out of the room in a fury of blind misunderstanding. "Al wait!" Riza called out as she started to run after him. A scream and a thump were heard outside in the hallway that brought Roy Mustang to attention. He ran out and his eyes caught onto the two figures that were moaning on the floor. A long haired nurse with brown eyes that matched her hair weakly lifted herself up and cringed she looked down at the young brunette that she accidentally knocked down and gasped. "Oh! I'm so sorry sir! Please forgive me!" she cried out while bowing in a slight way.

Al looked up at the woman while rubbing his head and smile sympathetically, "No, no its okay. It was just an accident after all." He rose to his feet and looked to the young nurse, "You seem to be in a hurry."

"That's right, my boss wanted me to drop off a blood sample from Mr. Elric's room.' She sighed and hunched over a bit, "Its so busy right now that I don't even have time to call my husband and tell him I'll be late coming home. With Mr. Elric's disappearance and all this has turned into one giant-"

"Wait? Mr. Elric? As in Edward Elric?" Al asked frantically.

She nodded. "Yes I was one of his nurses and was the first to find out that he was gone." Her face turned distressed and sad, "Though Mr. Elric isn't the only person missing tonight. One of my friends – she's a nurse as well – is missing too. She was sent to check up on Mr. Elric also but no one's seen her since." She squeezed the tube of blood that was in her hand.

Al sighed but felt an ounce of pity for the nurse. "So has anyone been searching for your friend?"

She shook her head. "No, we've been to occupied with searching for Mr. Elric. He is a State Alchemist and it is our duty to take care of our patients before our own employees." She said the last part with regret but put on a brave smile. "But anyways I have to take this blood sample to the lab, I'm still sorry for colliding with you… um…"

"Alphonse Elric."

The nurse's eyes grew wide. "Oh my! You must be the brother of Mr. Edward. Sorry I didn't recognize you before!" She apologized again then looked to the two soldiers behind him, "Um who are…"

"Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye and Colonel Roy Mustang." Al answered ahead of time while pointing to them. The woman nodded and then looked at her watch, "Oh my gosh I needed to get this sample in right away."

"Oh uh, may I come with you? I have something's I want to ask you, about my brother of course."

"Its okay with me but you cant come into the lab, policies still apply right now." She started walking with Alphonse at her side and Roy and Riza behind them. "So what would you like to ask me?"

"Well was Edward awake at all during your check-ups?"

"His chart said that he was unconscious ever since he got here. Sorry but he was asleep the whole time."

"I see, was his health good?"

"As a matter of fact it was. In fact –"

The two soldiers pain close attention to the conversation while they passed up numerous doors. Roy sighed and scratched the back of his neck this wasn't exactly the place he wanted to be right now but against all odds he had to be here. That gut feeling didn't go away yet instead it increased and churned, at this point it was getting annoying. What was still annoying him was that cocky doctor they talked to earlier. That bastard, he was probably all talk and no bite but still he infuriated Roy to the point that he wanted to beat him to a pulp. Bastard doctor… whoa, was this how Ed felt when he called him Colonel Bastard… That is kind of creepy in an ironic way.

Riza stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a disturbing noise drift into her ear. It was faint but at the same time horrid and full of pain. She disconnected herself from every other sound and paid close attention to the source of that horrid noise. It was weak and… mangled? Full of pain and distress… almost like it was moaning for help… Her feet involuntarily started to follow her ears and walk towards where the moaning was coming from. It took a moment for Roy to realize that Riza had stopped for a second he looked back and found that Riza had gone adrift and saw that she looked almost focused on something, "Lieutenant?" Roy said in an unsure voice.

"Shhh…" Riza hissed at him and held up her hand as she approached a door. She leaned her ear to the door and heard it again, that disgusting and agonizing moaning. Riza pulled out her gun and held it firmly she was ready to shoot if needed. Cautiously she reached for the doorknob and turned clockwise, Roy was already at her side when she pushed the door open and held up her again. The room was pitch black and a voice started to speak:

_ Hello Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye, took you long enough to enter this room…_

"What the hell?" Roy was confused, who was talking?

_I have a game for the both of you. Would you mind turning on the lights First Lieutenant?_

Riza remained still for a little while. She wanted to find out where this voice this was from and she wasn't about to fall into some ludicious trap by whoever the hell was speaking. It sounded like a recording but the voice was completely clear and almost full of arrogant confidence… yet it sounded so familiar…

_Are you going to turn the lights on anytime soon Lieutenant?_

Riza flinched. How did this person know… she cautiously went over to a wall and swepped her hand across it, there had to be a switch somewhere. Easing over to the left she felt a hard object and flipped it up, bright lights flashed on and blinded the two veterans for a split second. Riza cringed and opened her eyes fully and nearly puked at what she saw in front of her.

On an operating table laid a blood drenched woman who was staring wide eyed and scared at the soldiers. She was wearing a nurse uniform, which made it obvious that she worked for this hospital, but it's once pure white color was stained with a red essence. Her mouth was open and begging to speak but all that came out were those inhuman moans, the tubes that were shoved in her mouth and down her throat made it impossible for her to utter a single 'help'. Her bulged eyes were bloodshot and swollen from the strain of her crying, red tear streaks marked down her pale skin on her battered cheeks. Restraints kept her from moving around too much and leaving from her prison bed, they probably kept her from thrashing around too much from the tubes that were entered into arms, legs, stomach, and sides. The mangled woman breathed heavily and fast paced through her red nose while her eyes were screaming – no, begging for one of the two strangers to help her.

Roy's stomach lurched at the heavy scent of blood that tainted the air, as a soldier he was use to that repulsive smell but the sight of that woman being hooked up like that and the condition she was in. it almost made him want to regurgitate. He hunched over a bit and turned to his lieutenant, she was in that same state of disgust he was in except her hand was over her mouth to keep her fluids back.

In the mist of their disgust, the voice came back:

_This woman's name is Elizabeth Howel, she works as a nurse at this hospital and as you can see, is in a little bit of a fix._

The voice sounded amused and excited… yet it was still so familiar…

_Against all odds, the two of you can save her. That is, if you can… Have you yet to figure out where those tubes end? If you turn to your right you'll find a tank of diseased blood, from leftover operations of course, and behind that woman is a machine that'll pump that blood into her. And it won't stop pumping until the woman goes BOOM! _

The pair flinched at the sheer psychotic excitement the voice possessed.

_Now let me mention the rules of the game. No leaving the room, no calling for help, and don't try to pull out the tubes that'll only make the blood pump faster. Here's what you have to do, its fairly simple actually all you have to do is find a little box in this room. The box has an ignition key that'll stop the blood from pumping into her, I'll give you both a hint as to where the box is: Its closer then your stomachs can take._

_ And if you fail and try to search for me well it wont be hard you've already seen me in this hospital._

_You have 30 seconds before the process begins. Good luck, you'll both need it._

Riza and Roy exchanged glances. "Do you think this guy is telling the truth?" Riza asked with a hint of panic.

"I don't know but I'm not going to chance this!" Roy shouted while knocking over table filled with scalpels. "Damn it! That damn box where is it!"

Riza started doing a search of her own while thinking of that hint the mysterious voice gave them, 'Its closer then your stomachs can take'. What does that mean? Riza looked back to the whimpering nurse and thought of the hint.

Its closer then your stomachs can take

C–could it be… maybe…

Its closer then your stomachs can take

"Lieutenant! What are you doing just standing around!" Roy yelled frantically almost piercing her train of thought.

Closer then our stomachs can take… what does he…

Riza looked more closely at the woman and started to approach her.

Closer… can take…

Instinctively Riza's hand reached out to the woman and went down to her abdomen it landed softly on the nurse outfit then started to shift around.

Closer… take… stomach

_Its closer then your stomachs can take_

Almost at the same time Riza's eyes went wide with the discovery while her hand felt a ominous pressure near the lower left side of the victim's abdomen. No, it can't be… she thought while tearing away the uniform that was around her stomach area. "Colonel! I know where the box is!"

Roy stopped his meaningless rampage and looked to Riza, "Well where is it? We have less then 15 seconds."

"Come here Colonel." Roy walked over to the other side of the table and dark eyes went wide with horror.

"You're kidding- it can't be in there." He stuttered, eyeing the square bulge that protruded from the woman's skin. That horrified expression turned furious and slightly confused, "How the hell are we going to get that out? And less than 10 seconds at most!" He raised his head and met Riza's surprised face. "Was this fool expecting us to operate on her?"

"It's impossible to even attempt to operate now!" Riza eyed the fallen scalpels on the floor that Roy pushed over. "We can't cut her open with unsanitized scalpels!" She ran over to the tubes that were connected to the tank and grasped them in her hand.

"Lieutenant, what are you doing!" Roy shouted in pure panic. Riza turned to him, "We have no choice at this point Colonel. I'm going to disconnect the tubes from here," she grunted and started to pull, "and I need your help over here!" Racing over to the blond Roy took a firm hand on the end ahead of Riza's and started to pull. Grunts filled the room's silent yet deadly atmosphere, the moans stopped but the air grew unsettling irritable and to make matters worse a young woman entered the upsetting room and screamed bloody murder at the sight she saw.

Roy looked to the woman and scrunched his nose. "Damn it, these tubes are connected tightly. You, give me two of those scalpels on the floor hurry!" The blond nurse woman hesitated for a second then ran over to the scalpels, picked up two then handed them over to the Colonel. Roy caught them with ease and with all his strength he stabbed the tubes and started to cut them one by one. Riza started to pull on the tubes harder, hopefully that will tighten the tubes so that it will become easier to cut.

5…4…3…2…1…0

The sound of whirling machines filled the room and densed the air. Horribly audible gurglings came from the tank as blood began to sink into the tubes and spray everywhere from the cut open tubes that Roy had sliced. The victim began to stir and that terrible moaning once again started up but before even a drop of blood could enter her Roy cut the last tube and sighed. His heartbeat started to calm down to a miniscule normal beat and the beads of sweat that once soaked his brow ceased to be. "Thank… Gate…" Wiping away whatever sweat he had left Roy stood up straight and looked to an anxious Riza who had dropped the useless tubes. "Okay, now we can get her out of those restraints." Roy turned to the blond nurse woman who stood at the doorway; her face looked oddly familiar…"Excuse me but have we met before?"

The nurse giggled and gazed deeply into him with her piercing golden eyes, "At the entrance of this hospital I guided you to Mr. Fredshay's office."

"No I mean, you look oddly familiar have we…"

"Are you trying to make a pass at me Colonel?" the nurse sneered.

"Wait no! Its just that-!"

"Colonel! I need your help over here!" Riza shouted while carefully taking the tubes out of the woman's mouth with cautious ease, she didn't want to accidentally hurt the nurse in anyway but by how long these tubes went down her throat it was a miracle she didn't suffocate. She kept pulling and finally the last of the tubes were gone. The restrained woman let out a huge amount of air and even some of her blood came out. "Help… h-help m-me…"

"Don't talk! Save your strength!" Riza yelled. At that moment Al and the nurse he was with entered the room and screamed. Riza turned to both of them and sighed. The nurse ran over to the woman and frantically asked, "Elizabeth is that you?"

Both Roy and Riza were confused at how the nurse knew her. Al went over to the operating table and joined in, "Isn't Elizabeth the name of your missing friend?" Al asked. The nurse nodded with tears coming out of her eyes. "Yes she is but how did she get here!"

"L-leave n-now… be-before h-he…" Elizabeth struggled to get out but choked on her coughed up blood, she started to wheeze and shut her swollen eyes tightly. "Don't speak Elizabeth! Its okay you're safe!" the frantic nurse hollered.

"What are you two doing here anyways?" Roy asked in a non-rude way. "We came back after she delivered the blood and when we found out you two weren't behind us anymore. But anyways how did this happen?" Al explained with only a hint of panic in his voice.

"Car-Caroline… get ou-out o-of here… n-now…" Elizabeth choked out.

The nurse by the name of Caroline shook her head and grasped her friend's hand. "Why do you keep saying that, I'm not leaving you!"

"Elizabeth right? Who did this to you?" Roy asked.

Elizabeth's eyes shot open with pure fear. Her shivering became worse while her mouth opened and closed and teeth started chattering. "T-t-that b-boy… h-he d-di-did thi-s to m-me…" Elizabeth gulped down her mixture of upcoming blood and saliva.

"Please be more specific! Do you know his name?"

"Edward Elric, m-my patient…"

All went silent until Elizabeth broke it. "That monster! He did this to me! And he smiled the whole time! He seemed like a nice young man but he's a-" More hot blood burst through her mouth. From the view at the doorway, the blond nurse smiled sadistically but it quickly dropped when a voice reached her ears. It was _his _voice and _he _was coming down the hallway and will soon notice the commotion in this room. It sounded like he was taking to himself since there was only one voice:

"There's just no way he could do that! It doesn't make sense! Its beyond a human's brain to even…"

That damn man! The time of reckoning was close… soon judgment will come. The blond nurse eyed the man as he came into view, when he saw her, the man's face turned instantly furious. "Who the hell are you!"

Everyone in the room heard the shout and jumped. "Seems like the cocky bastard is here." Roy sighed.

Dr. Fredshay pushed past the blond nurse and looked into the room. "What the hell is all this?" He eyed the three strangers he met earlier, "And what the hell are all of you doing here! That's it, you've caused me enough trouble! I want you out of this hospital immediately!" He turned around to the blond nurse and asked, "And whomever the hell you are, get out of my hospital too!"

"She works at this hospital you ass!" Al yelled in defense of her.

"No she doesn't! I know every nurse and doctor here by name and face and never have I seen this woman anywhere." Fredshay said while eyeing the blond with disgust. The room fell silent once again.

"Alright then enough games," the blond nurse snickered with a smile on her face. She reached into her side pocket and started to pull out something. "The show must go on as scheduled." She whipped the object out and a gunshot pierced the atmosphere. The room fell into an indefinite silence while all eyes were on Elizabeth who had blood twinkleing down her forehead from the bullet wound that just entered her.

"The Monster…" Was the one word that escaped her along with her last breath.

Riza pulled out her gun again and aimed at the blond nurse who had her own gun out. The blond didn't look fazed by the threat of being shot instead she said, "How predictable of you Lieutenant. You always let your gun do the talking for you yet somehow you fail to shoot me. Why is that?" The blond didn't keep her eyes off the crying Caroline instead they narrowed to a deadly humor. "I wouldn't shoot yet Lieutenant. That'll be your undoing." She paused and breathed in the tainted blood scent air, "But if you're going to shoot me then first let me put this girl out of misery." She pulled the trigger and a bullet entered into Caroline's forehead, sending the girl off to meet her friend.

The blond snickered and shifted her gun to a shuddering Fredshay. "Now I believe it's your turn…"

"Dr. Fredrick S. Hayson." The blond's voice turned deep and threatening much to everyone's surprise.

"Oh? You all haven't figured it out yet? Then let me shed a little light on the subject." The blond grabbed her nurse hat and discarded it. She began to pull back her hair to reveal her whole face and with a rubber band that was on her wrist, she tied it back into a ponytail. "Do you not recognize me yet?" Said the blond who was obviously a male in disguise as a woman. The male aimed the gun at Fredshay's and glared intensely at him, "You of all people should know me – actually you should know me all to well!"

"Edward Elric…" he gasped out.

"As your monster I wish you a goodnight." Edward smiled with a slight pull of his trigger.

Another gunshot pierced the night.

…

"That was the third gunshot," the boy on the roof asked his companion, "do we go now?"

"Of course," said the girl with a twisted smile, "Now the show can truly begin!"

**I'm worn out right now… so three things to say…**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please Review!**

**And does anyone know what happens in the new FMA movie! Or at least what the plot is!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Review time!**

**Mysterious-Becci-D:**** Thanks for sticking with my story all this time! And yes, this story is only going to get more exciting by the chapters!**

**Joker Oak: ****Trust me when I say, Edward is more deranged then I show him to be. Thanks for commenting by the way! **

**The Snow Crystal Alchemist:**** O.O if you thought that was amazing… then read this! ^^ Thank you!**

**The Ultimate Pancake:**** Thank you! :D And thanks for telling me what you know about the movie. I can't wait for it to be in subtitles and better yet in English! ^^**

**And many thanks to my readers out there! But I'm not going to hold you all up so…**

Chapter 9/ Final Awakening

"Do you remember your job, Zero?"

"Of course I do, Phoenix," Zero assured her while squatting down on the edge of the roof. "After all, my part in this show is the most important. But do you remember your part?"

Phoenix smirked to herself. "Of course I do, all I need to listen to is the fifth gunshot." She looked up at the sky and sighed at the shining sparkles of stars. "Well then, let's go." She extended her hand to her partner and with a blink of her eye they vanished.

…

Blood freely dropped to the floor as the atmosphere in the blood tainted room turned deadly and nauseating. Edward smiled at the surprised Riza while dropping his gun back to his side. Golden eyes slowly moved and focused on the bleeding left shoulder that dripped with his crimson liquid, Edward lifted his right hand and grabbed hold of the shoulder for a second. "You finally shot me Lt. Hawkeye," the hand let go of the shoulder and a finger outpointed, "but that was a very cruel thing you just did to me." His finger entered into the gunshot wound and started to twirl around in it while Ed's face began to twist with pain, "After all I'm this guy's Monster and I think I should get the pleasure of sending him into a eternal sleep." Edward grunted while pulling out the bullet and holding it in front of his face, he stared at it for a moment then shoved it in his breast pocket. Edward turned back to his shoulder and saw that it was bleeding heavily now but he didn't really care at the moment. Ed looked back at Riza and snarled, "You broke the rules of my little game and that cost this woman's life to end," raising his blood covered hand to his mouth Edward slid his tongue out and started to lick the blood off all the while smiling the entire time, "but then again what do I care? There's only one life I'm focused on taking tonight." He turned back to a shivering Fredshay.

"Brother what's wrong with you? Why are you acting this way?" Alphonse spoke up while looking at his changed brother only and focusing on no one else. "Why did you kill that nurse…"

Edward frowned sadly and dropped his hand to his side. "Correction my little brother, I killed two nurses," he looked at the dead body that lay on the ground and asked, "what does it matter to you rather I killed them or not?"

Al was shocked at his brother's words. "What do you mean by that?" Al nearly shouted his voice was rising in volume from his going haywire emotions, "It's one of your principles not to kill a living human being! And yet you killed them without even blinking, you killed them like you don't even care!"

"Because I don't Alphonse, I don't care what happens to them." Edward sighed before looking down at himself and frowning deeper. "I suppose I am unsettling you all with my current attire." He grabbed hold of the fake boobs on his chest and cupped them. "Honestly, my pride is diminishing at this very second."

"Why did you do this Edward?" The irritated voice of the Colonel growled. "What would possess you to set up a sick game like this…" His voice was wrapped with venom while his dark eyes narrowed straight at the cross dressing teen. "What happened to you?"

"You want to know what happened to me Colonel." Edward sneered once again and dropped his hands to his sides; he turned to a shuddering Fredshay and said, "**He's** what happened to me. **He's **the one who created me." Golden eyes narrowed to deadly slits and lips began to curl up into an amused yet devilish smile, "Though why would you use a fake name? Not to mention one as uncreative as Fredshay..." Edward sighed and looked back to his bleeding shoulder, "It seems you're the same as always Fredrick."

"Stop talking like that Fullmetal and explain yourself." Roy spat with a cringe. His cold eyes burrowed straight into the calm alchemist with a silent fury, those cold eyes then turned to Fredshay – or Fredrick, whatever his real name was. "And you too, how the hell does Edward know you?"

Fredrick glanced at the infuriated Colonel and bravely snorted, "I don't owe an explanation to you so just stay out of this you filthy military dog."

"You still have that damn cocky attitude even though you're being threatened at gun point?" Roy growled through gritted teeth while casually reaching into his pocket to put on his glove, though he hoped he wouldn't have to use it against Edward.

"Hm? Fredrick, you're not going to tell him anything?" Edward asked with actual confusion on his face and in his words.

"I don't owe you an answer either my little experiment." Fredrick snarled with venom in his voice and dangerous daggers shooting at the blond, but Edward didn't look fazed by the glare. "You're just as much as a dog as him."

Edward snickered at the comment. "'My little experiment'? That's what you call me? I see that it does fit me quite well but no – I'm not your experiment anymore," looking back at the trio Edward rose his hand to his face and covered half of it, a malicious sneer tugged at the corners of his lips and a wild yet insane light glistened in his golden eyes, "I'm a success. I'm more than I was when I was just Edward Elric, hell, I more than a regular human."

"I've actually managed to evolve to a whole new level of humanity."

Uneasy silence crept into the unsettling room as Ed turned to the steamed doctor, "And I have you to blame for that Fredrick." Edward took a step forward and immediately Riza cocked her gun again but that didn't even make Edward flinch as he took another step forward in approaching the doctor. Fredrick glared deadly at Ed but that didn't stop Edward from walking to him soon the blond was only two steps away from the doctor but stopped when Riza fired her gun again. It didn't hit Edward but instead it flew in between the two conflicted characters.

"Stop Edward!" she shouted.

Ed ignored her and paid attention to only Fredrick. "You know what I'm capable of, you know what my limitations are, and you know how far my potential can go." Edward mused with that same evil sneer on his face. "After all you are one of my 'masters' and you know what I can do and what I have done." His hand fell back down to his side while the other hand still held the gun. "Do you remember the Grand Event, my so called 'master'?"

Instantly Fredrick flinched at his words. Grand Event… those two words brought back too many painful memories. That place he remembered all too well… every second, every minute of it he remembered. And he remembered what took place on that chaotic night… he remembered the screams… the blood… all of it… and he remembered what that Blond Devil did. "Y-you… m-monster… keep away from me!" He screamed and backed away.

"But 'master', that's what you always wanted me to be; a monster, that's why you created me." Edward said so innocently.

"Enough! Brother this guy didn't create you!" Alphonse raised his voice to a high level. He couldn't bare to listen to another word of this nonsense that was being thrown. "Edward, you were born not created and you're not a monster!" _or is he? _The thought flickered in Al's brain but vanished as soon as he thought of that notion.

"My little brother, you seem to misunderstand the circumstances of this situation." Edward turned to his brother and hissed while holding his gun up once again and pressing it against the doctor's head. "You see I'm not the older brother that you knew and loved anymore." The sneer grew even bigger.

"I'm nothing but a shell of a memory of Edward Elric."

Another gunshot pierced the night.

…

"And it begins." Phoenix smirked.

…

Edward snickered with that same insane sneer on his face but that snicker began to quickly transform into a full maniac laugh. Everyone in the room stared horrified at the action Edward just took, especially Al he couldn't understand why his brother did it but one thing was for certain; Edward was clearly unstable.

The laugh continued on while Edward outspreaded his arm and dropped his gun to the ground. His hands found their way to his face and covered it all the way, except for his mouth where the laughter didn't stop. It grew colder and crueler with every second that passed and didn't falter at all even with the bleeding gunshot wound that Edward inflicted upon his right leg.

Fredrick shuddered at the young man's laugh as it quieted down and left a deranged glimmer in Ed's eyes. He said only one thing through his clenched teeth, "You're a failed experiment Edward. If you're this insane then you are nothing but a psychopath."

"Don't lie to yourself Fredrick." A female voice said as a young girl appeared behind Edward. Her deep midnight blue eyes bore straight into the doctor while her long jet-black hair that rivaled the Flame Alchemist's stood out the most from her tanned skin. "This is exactly what you and those damn scientists set out for Edward to be. He is the ultimate goal and the results of all those months of experiments that you all put us through."

Edward snickered. "Right on time my dear." In a blur of speed Ed ran behind Fredrick and with both his hands he grabbed the doctor's hands and restrained him while one of his arms wrapped around the doctor's neck, holding him in a choke hold. Fredrick gasped with surprise since his air circulation got cut off immediately. Hot breath scorched his neck from that demonic sneer that Edward still wore. "You're the final piece that I need for the grand finale, so I would feel honored if I were you."

"What… are… you…" He tried to say but utterly failed in forming a sentence.

"Phoenix." Edward said while turning back to Roy, Riza, and Al. "My brother, my fellow comrade, and of course my superior officer, if you wish to stay alive and see the fruits of my labor then I suggest you come to the roof of this hospital… and Alphonse I especially want you to stay alive so that I may have the pleasure of killing you myself."

Phoenix walked over to Edward and put her hand on his shoulder. She waved goodbye to the trio and in the blink of an eye they vanished.

"What the hell…" Mustang stammered while walking over to the place where Edward use to be. He was filled with shock at the disappearance of his subordinate but shock wasn't the only emotion that was bubbling within him, a misguided confused feeling spread throughout his entire being and yet he couldn't describe it. It was foreign and on a path of its own but there wasn't any time to spare to understand these emotions, no, time was clearly not on their side at the moment.

_If you wish to stay alive and see the fruits of my labor then I suggest you come to the roof of this hospital._

Was it a trap? No, it couldn't be. He said if they wanted to stay alive… but there was no guarantee that Edward wouldn't just kill them when they got up there. Ugh… this was all just messed. It just didn't make any sense; seeing the stubborn young alchemist that always back talked him, who was always so dedicated to getting his brother's body back, the same blond young man that vowed to never take a human life was talking like a deluded murderer. The Colonel clenched his fist and gritted his teeth it was all just so frustrating and yet he had to make sure for himself, he had to see with own eyes to actually believe Edward wasn't… himself anymore. "Lieutenant, Alphonse, we're going to the roof."

"What about them sir?" Riza asked while sadly looking over at the two dead nurses. "We can't just –"

"We're going to the roof _Lieutenant_." Roy said firmly, he looked behind her and at Al who was eyes were wide and unmistakably showing a grief of a different nature. For a moment his own cold black eyes felt sympathy for the youth but that sympathy quickly left the moment it appeared. He turned his back and started to head out of the disgusting room. It felt good to finally leave that nauseating atmosphere since it was tainted with heavy loads of blood. Roy stood in the hallway for a split second and then started to walk, he didn't look behind him because he knew that Riza and Al were behind him. And so they headed to the roof.

…

Zero sighed with relief as he wiped the sweat away from his brow and breathed in properly. He had to hold his breath for an expandable amount of time while hooking up the gas chamber to the vent system; just to be on the safe side and Edward had specifically told him not to breathe while doing the process. But now that he was all done he could finally get busy to what his real role in this plan was.

He swung back his long purple hair and tied it back in a ponytail. His steel cold purple eyes matched perfectly with his hair and black tuxedo he was wearing, it especially brought out the black tie that was on him. He looked over himself and made sure he looked presentable, if he didn't then that would mean he would be unmannerly and that would deem him an animal. Literally. After checking himself over twice he decided it was time to go and meet the special 'guests' that Edward had mentioned, after all, if he wasn't on time to escort Ed's 'guests' then what kind of host would he be?

With a smirk on his face Zero left the basement of the hospital and started to walk. His tongue slid over his sharp fangs and a tingle struck his entire being. The show Edward has set for this night will truly be nothing less than magnificent, the plans were perfect, the mask Ed had worn to hide his intentions was ingenious and best of all, the sheer timing of it all. When midnight comes, the finale shall begin.

**This was really exciting to write! But anyways, I'm a bit tired right now and have a major headache so four things to say…**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review!**

**And I love you all for staying with my story so far! **

**FMA does not belong to me!**

**(And I may have the next chapter up tonight.)**


	11. Intermission

**Mysterious-Becci-D:**** Thanks soooo much! :3**

**And thank you to all my other readers!**

**But since there's nothing else to say…**

Black Intermission

"Oh, Phoenix, have you brought my suit?" Edward asked. He stood on the edge of the roof and looked down on everyone who was walking on the sidewalks, he wasn't surprised to see people outside at this time of the night.

Phoenix nodded and gave him a black tuxedo, black bow, and black shoes. Ed gleamed at the clothes for a second then took them into his hands, he looked back to Phoenix and asked, "Um, would you mind…"

Knowing what he meant Phoenix swiftly turned around and said, "Sorry…"

"That applies to you too, Mr. Hayson." Edward mused with a smile while turning to a certain immobile doctor. Fredrick had been tied up with sturdy rope and was placed on the floor in the corner of the roof; he looked up at Edward with obvious furiousity but Edward just responded with that same devilish smile. "Aw come on, don't look at me like that, and once in a while you can smile."

"You lunatic, why would I do that?" Fredrick bravely spat, even though deep within him he was scared to death.

"Because your last moments of life are counting down so I advise you to at least attempt to be happy or something." Sighed Edward while beginning to unbutton the nurse outfit.

"You're insane." Fredrick hissed.

"Maybe I am," Edward smirked, "but insanity is better then facing reality."

"What do you mean?" Fredrick asked cautiously.

The smirk grew wider. Ed finished unbuttoning the shirt and dropped it to the ground as well as any other nurse disguise he had on, a black under shirt now covered his upper body. "What I mean is that insanity is a fantasy in which I wish to stay in, in order to reach my one and only goal, and if I stay and think with reality then I'll be searching for something that I wont ever find."

"What kind of nonsense is that?" Fredrick asked in actual curiosity with a mix of anger and confusion.

"I might as well tell you considering you're going to die. You see, I'm going to complete the assignment you scientists programmed me to accomplish. I'm going to finish it and in order to do that, I'm going to use this hospital as my starting point." Edward's smirk grew even bigger at the sheer terror on Fredrick's face.

"Y-you c-c-can't mean…" Fredrick stuttered while his body began to tremble with fear.

"Oh yes I do, my 'master'."

"You're insane!" Fredrick shouted in an outburst of pure fury. "You're a fool if you think you can accomplish that! It's impossible! That's why we abandoned the project!"

"Impossible you say? And abandoned?" Edward chuckled. "Phoenix, did you bring my ring?"

Startled by his sudden question, Phoenix nodded without facing Edward. "Then would you mind…" Phoenix reached into her pocket, grabbed hold of a small ring and threw it to Ed. He caught it easily in his right hand and walked toward the doctor/scientist. "Nothing is impossible for me when I have this." He opened his hand and revealed a small ring with a red crystal in his palm; Fredrick took in the ring's features and automatically gasped. His eyes widened to the point that they were about to bug out of his sockets and his mouth gaped open and began to shut in a repeating motion, "T-that's…"

"You see Fredrick, your team and all the other scientists didn't just simply abandon year's work of experimentation for the small, weak idea of it being too dangerous. No, they pressed forward and delved themselves into something they couldn't hope to contain… nor control." Edward slowly put the ring on his right ring finger and narrowed his eyes down on the hopeless, pathetic scientist. "You and every other damn scientists dove straight into the Devil's trap and took the bait, and so you all must pay the price. But I'm not going to simply kill you, oh no – that would be an easy way out. I'm going to let you watch as I proceed on with the first step of my plan, after all, this is where it'll all begin." Edward raised his right hand in front of his face and covered half of it again; the red crystal on the ring shined a brilliant crimson in the midst of the night. "It's ironic really, all of the scientists that forced me into this… this state of mind are going to assist in helping me complete my goal."

"With the Philosopher's Stone, I can achieve my goal of destroying this world."

"Sorry to interrupt Edward, but it's almost time." Phoenix said shakily.

Edward turned away from the doctor and sighed. He looked down at the suit and said to himself, "Ah, I almost forgot." He walked away from Fredrick and continued to put the suit on.

After five minutes he was finally done and looked over himself. The black suit fitted his size perfectly and the black shoes were incredibly comfortable, the black bow he was wearing was tied with no obvious flaws and the Philosopher's Stone ring rested on his finger. He had a matching black coat to go with this but decided against wearing it. Edward told Phoenix it was okay for her to look now and walked over to the edge again.

"Edward, you nearly forgot this." Phoenix said as she tossed Edward a black top hat. Edward caught it and put it on, now he looked dashing. Ed smiled to himself and looked up at the sky.

"Well, shall we begin?"

**I'll leave it at that for now. Sorry its short but next chapter will tell you exactly what Edward is planning to do with the hospital. **

** Oh my gosh, I couldn't resist the urge to dress up Edward in a top hat, he just looks so cute! Like a nobleman or something like that. But anyways!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review!**

**FMA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 11/ Fallen and Rising **

"Huh? Are you okay James?" a nurse asked the small boy in the bed while adjusting his IV medicine. She walked over to him and checked his pulse, for some reason the boy had entered into a couphing fit and it hadn't stopped yet. It made absolutely no sense.

James shook his head and covered his mouth with one hand and while the other clutched his small chest. The nurse sighed and suddenly coughed too. She turned her head away from the boy and swayed a bit to the left. She felt an ambushing dizzy spell attack her and quickly she grabbed hold of the wall and calmed herself.

_What is going on? _She asked herself as the cough turned violent for not only her but also her patient James.

…

Roy led Al and Hawkeye up a back stairway that would lead them to the roof, and eventually lead them to Edward. Roy started to wheeze and slow down on his walking pace, there was something in the air that was messing with his breathing and he knew it too. He turned around to Riza and Al and saw that they were having the same symptoms as him, with a grunt Roy held onto a rail and continued upwards. No matter what he had to see Ed again, and he had to know what he was planning, not to mention there was the issue of that doctor – or should he say scientist, who knew Edward. Everything that has happened up to this point has been annoying and irritable beyond the Colonel's patience. Roy coughed and bent his head over, looking at the stairs below him. What exactly was making him feel this way?

"Oh! I see that you all have arrived!" cheered a voice just above Roy. The Colonel looked up startled by the sudden voice and saw a young teenage boy who was wearing a black tuxedo, his features revealed mid-dark purple hair and eyes, and fangs were shown as the boy smiled. His hands were at his sides as he narrowed his purple eyes and smiled bigger and formally, he raised his right hand across his chest and bowed to the three people. "Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and Alphonse Elric, you three have been especially requested by my Master to observe the final remnants of his show. I am Zero Welsay Lavine and I am here to escort you to my Master, Edward Elric."

The three stared at Zero for a second. Mustang's brow burrowed and his eyes narrowed to the unexplainable teenager. "Now if you all allow me, will all of you follow me?" the teenager said as he turned his back toward them.

Not feeling comfortable enough to actually follow this mysterious teen Roy asked the boy, "What do you mean by escort us?"

"Master Edward has requested me to escort you to the roof in order for you all to survive." Zero simply answered, not turning back to face the man's uneasiness.

"Survive? What do you mean by that?" Roy pressed on, taking a step forward on the staircase.

"I am not suggested to reveal anymore or I might spoil the surprise." Zero said while starting back walking up the stairs. He turned around and outstrected his arm to reveal an open palm. With a kind yet strangely vicious smile he kindly said, "Now, if you all just follow me…"

Fighting against every instinct in his body Roy stood still for a second, still not convinced to follow the boy, but all of a sudden Al walked past him and approached Zero. When he stood in front of him he asked, "Can you take me to my Brother?" his voice held stern bravery and obvious hurt, it was almost pitiful.

Zero didn't answer for a second but then he answered, "Yes, I can take you to Master Edward." Al hesistantly nodded as a response to continue on, and so Zero understood, turned his back and continued walking. Al followed closely behind the boy. Roy and Riza finally decided to walk after them much to their annoyence and feelings. "So, you are my Master's brother correct?" Zero asked Al so suddenly while climbing another fleet of stairs.

Al nodded vigoursly at the question, "Yes I am."

"He talks a lot about you." Zero said with his back to the guests, "He must love you very much to go to such lengths to prepare and go through with this. I hear what he says about you, he says your very kind and loves cats."

Al mentally blushed at this but he kept on a hard poker face. "What's your connection to my brother?"

"He and I were lab rats together. We were in the same department but were subjected to different expirements, he was part of a bigger more important expirement and I was just a simple boy who was to be turned into a chimera." Zero raised his right hand to his chest and looked at it. "You might not be able to tell but I am a chimera… well actually that's not quite right. I'm not fused with an animal nor was I induced to any genetics from an animal."

"So then what are you?" Roy asked grimly.

"Well, I'm not human and I'm not a chimera so in truth I don't know what I am." Zero simply answered. "Your brother, I saw him sometimes when I was on my way to the lab. He looked like crap when I first saw him, his eyes were devoid of any existence and his body was so weak and skinny that I thought he would pass out and die on the floor any day, maybe I thought that because his eyes looked like death. His mind was even worse, almost everyday he would act primal and deranged as if he was a mad ape and attack everyone he saw, I imagine the scientists were conducting the same expierements the were on me on him."

"And what would those expirements be?" Riza spoke up.

"To unlock the genetic code within a human in order for the human to either devolve back into a pirimary, beginning state or evolve and become something greater. But the thing is, he wouldn't be human if they did that too him and its fairly obvious that Master is still human." Zero turned to Alphonse and looked deep into his gray eyes, "So I honestly don't know exactly what type of expirements those scientists did on him. But he acted deranged almost everyday, shouting and screaming threats of death and yelling about you Alphonse Elric."

Al cringed. "Me? Why me? What was he saying?"

"I couldn't fully understand him but it sounded like he wanted to find you and you him. Some days it sounded like he wanted to kill you and others it sounded like he loved you deeply, but those unpredictable ramblings stopped after the Director performed a new process on Edward, it was called Rewrite."

The trio flinched at the familiar revolting word. "By how you all reacted I can tell that you know what Rewrite is."

"We've seen it, we know what Rewrite did to Ed." Roy furiously said through gritted teeth. "It rearanges your memories…"

"That's only the first step to it. And do you know how they rearranged his memories? Surely they wouldn't just sit him in front of a candle and lie to him."

"First step? What else did they do?" Riza asked.

"Well first they – "

_**Arta via, santa Krishna karmita rie ilgi magida fidia!**_

_**Joining harmoniously in the dark, despair and the future.**_

_** The moonlight that exposes my sorrow, shines coldy.**_

__"Hm? It seems that Master has begun. Come quickly now, you don't want to be late." The boy said as he picked up his pace.

The heavenly singing voice echoed into everyone's ears and soothed their worries but just for a moment.

_**With the secret you gave me as a companion **_

_** I proceed into the silence of the blue night**_

__Roy didn't know what to think of the voice. It was bueatiful and yet held a sort of venom to it, it was so soft and warm and yet Roy couldn't help but feel disgust for the voice. It was so familiar though… "Who's singing?" he asked Zero.

_**Lacrimosa **_

_** Broken and vanishing into the distance**_

_** I want to love this dazzling world once more**_

_** I hide my dreams within my eyes**_

_** Until my tainted heart**_

_** Receives falling tears**_

__"You will see once we get to the roof, now come along." Zero urged as the door to the roof came into view.

_**Kanta via namari dista doche ta filda amira canta via namari dista doche ta filda amira di noche ita**_

He approached the door and reached for the knob but stopped as his hand retreated and snapped. "Oh I almost forgot!" Zero dug into his pocket and pulled out a disk that was contained by a cover case, he handed the disk over to Mustang and said, "Master wanted me to give this to you. He also me to tell you this, 'The Promised Future will come again, but until then solve the mystery of the Grand Event."

_**A phantom carriage parts the darkness**_

_** On its way to where there is light**_

_** The trap known as dreams**_

_** Lures us into the inferno**_

__Mustang looked at the disk in his hand then put it in his pocket. "But what the hell am I suppose to do with – "

Before he could finish, Zero opened the door and the view of Edward became known. Roy stopped talking and walked through the door that Zero was holding for them. Al and Riza followed after him and soon they all stood on the roof staring at a singing Edward.

_**To the merciless gods above the sky**_

_** No cry will get through**_

_** Lacrimosa…**_

__Edward stood on the edge of the roof wearing not a nurse disguise but a black tuxedo and top hat. His hands were outspreaded and his back was to the trio.

_**Orde miri cache adobi mara chika**_

_**Italdi yoake afiri kaditas ordia **_

Phoenix stood a couple of feet away from him and next to a hysterical Fredrick. She was wearing a black dress that shimmered in the night, she turned to the trio and bowed respectively.

_**Let us become firewood that has been burnt until we are hollow**_

_** And burn that sky until it is no more**_

__Edward's voice ended with a long mournful cry, it held a powerful note but ended with a waving mourn. Roy, Riza, and Al all stared at Ed, who wasn't focused on them, and mentally decided against interrupting his song. Edward's hands motioned and moved around as if he was conducting an orchestra.

_**Arta via **_

_** Lacrimosa dies ilda **_

__Ed turned in the direction of the group and smiled. He turned back around and continued on.

_**Lacrimosa **_

_** Fallen and born here**_

_**I want to love this blood-soaked world without fear**_

_** Instead of being forgiven, forgive and have faith**_

_** And remain on the face of this earth**_

_** To count the tearful days that pass**_

Edward's hands went up into the air and outstretched once again as his back arched back and his head jerked back. A sick and content smile grazed his face and his golden eyes were closed in absolute delight.

_**Canta via namari dista doche ta filda amira di noche ita canta via namari dista doche ta filda amira di noche ita di noche ita.**_

Edward stood back up straightly and his hands fell to his sides as he finished the last remnants of the song.

_**Arta via**_

_**Esta aa…**_

Edward turned around and faced everyone. He bowed once then straightened up again and crossed his arm over is chest. His eyes slowly opened and with a chilling shock those golden eyes matched up perfectly with his deranged smile. "Thank you, thank you!" he cheered as Phoenix and Zero applauded him, the trio didn't know what to do so they kept their hands to their sides. Edward smiled at their non-applauding, jumped down from the edge and walked up to them. "Welcome my friends, to the final moments of this show." Ed walked up to Al and narrowed his eyes at him, "And especially welcome to you my brother." Unexpectingly Edward wrapped his arms around Al and embraced him, "I missed you Al and you know that I love you right?"

Al didn't respond. He hesistantly wrapped his own arms around Ed and laid his chin on Ed's shoulder, his eyes were beginning to fill with tears and mixed emotions of confusion and faint happiness ravanged his heart. He felt every essence of a warm feeling that surged through his body and tingled his skin, it was the all too familiar feeling of his brother's warmth. He could feel it deep in his bones as it filled Al with a new sense. "Right brother, I do love you." Al closed his eyes for a second and breathed, "But Ed, why are you-"

"Alphonse, what gas is made up of one carbon molecule and one oxygen molecule?" Edward asked suddenly releasing his hug from Al and standing back.

"Huh? Um, Ed, why are you asking that?" Al asked suddenly confused.

"Answer the question Al." Edward demanded in a slightly snappy tone.

"Um, okay then… one carbon and one oxygen molecule… um, wouldn't that make carbon monoxide gas?" Al answered hesitantly.

"Correct Alphonse. Now, Colonel Mustang, what appearance does carbon monoxide take? And how dangerous is it? As an alchemist you should know this quite easily." Edward asked, turning to Mustang and smiling sweetly.

Roy looked Edward straight in the eyes and huffed. "Why are you asking such things Fullmetal?" That deep uneasy feeling in his gut woke up again, something about this didn't seem right…

"You'll find out eventually, but just answer the question for now." Edward said with his patience clearly intact.

Narrowing his dark eyes Roy answered, "It's a colorless, odorless gas, completely undetected by those in its mist. Its an industrial gas and its also very toxic."

Edward paused for a second, his golden eyes shimmered with a sudden shock. Those eyes soon went back to normal with that insane, kind glimmer and Ed's mouth opened, "Correct Colonel. Ms. Hawkeye, what are some of the uses of carbon monoxide?" he asked turning to Riza.

_Where is he going with this? _Riza wondered, not taking an inch away from Ed's cold stare. "It can be used in the industry buisness, in meat coloring, and especially used in the practice or field of medicine." Hawkeye finished.

"That's correct Ms. Hawkeye." Edward mused, taking a few more steps back. Zero walked toward him and stood by his side. Ed smiled at Zero and asked, "Is it done?"

"Yes Master, I have done what you've asked." Zero responded.

"Good. But you don't have to call me your master, its to formal just call me Ed." Edward grinned.

Zero frowned in confusion but answered, "Yes Mas- um, Ed." He then walked over to Phoenix's side and watched what Edward was going to do from a view.

Edward turned back to the trio and grinned even wider. He held up his right hand and revealed the red crystal ring on his finger. "I know that all of you know what this is, don't you?"

Al flinched at the mere sight of the red stone that was bored on Ed's finger. "T-the Philosopher's Stone."

"How did you get that Edward!" Roy yelled in undeniable rage, he didn't waste anytime with asking.

"Ah, I'm not telling you, but you'll figure it out eventually." Ed's grin suddenly turned into a frown as his eyes showed a hint of disappointment. "Colonel Bastard, you missed one of the most dangerous qualities about carbon monoxide." Edward walked back over to the edge and stood on it. "I'm very disappointed in you, as an alchemist you should've know, **you **especially should've known since you're the Flame Alchemist."

"Cut with the riddles Ed!" Roy snapped, his temper being tried. "Tell us what you mean! And why are you talking about carbon monoxide so much!"

"Because this whole hospital is filled with carbon monoxide." Edward calmly said. "Colonel, did you know that carbon monoxide can actually kill a human if their exposed to it for too long? Its actually an amazing feature that carbon monoxide is not only colorless but odorless, so you can't tell if you're inhaling it or not, but that's why there are systems and monitors in every house to make sure that you're alert if carbon monoxide is in your presence. But if you somehow manage to shut down every monitor in this hospital what will everyone be thinking while they carelessly and unknowingly inhale the poisonous gas?"

"They wouldn't be thinking of anything." Edward finished with a charmful blink of his eye. "What do you think I was doing disguising myself as a nurse? Did you think I was saving people or having a tea party? No, I was cutting off all the carbon monoxide alarms in this building."

Riza's, Al's, and Roy's eyes grew big with shock and horror. "Brother, you're joking right?"

"I'm not Al. The whole hospital is already filled with the gas, thanks to a little re-wiring of the vent system." He glanced over at Zero and in response Zero smirked.

Al's eyes grew even wider. "Edward! How could you do such a thing! There are doctors and sick paitents in this hospital." Riza cried out.

"I know, which is why they won't die from the gas." Edward's grin turned malicious and twisted again, he looked over at Roy and said, "It would be too cruel to kill them by the gas so I decided another way." Edward raised his hands in a clapping formation and glared at Roy, who returned his glare with one of his own. "You know what the other property of carbon monoxide is? What makes it truly dangerous?"

"It's also highly flammable." Edward clapped his hands. Red alchemic sparks flew off of him and struck every inch of the area around him. The sparks then flew down the roof and consumed the hospital below, making it look like it was being electrocuted. Then an explosion was heard. The grin on Ed's face grew wider with sheer delight. Another explosion was heard but this one was louder and caused a slight earthquake of the building. The trio wobbled as the ground below them shifted and moved, suddenly another explosion pierced the air and then a scream. Ed's eyes grew wider with complete and udder happiness. Another blood curdling scream echoed through the night as a chorus of screams joined in. The screams continued on and brought shudders to the trio. Pain. Anguish. Agony. Sheer chaos filled those screams of the innocent and pierced the atmosphere like a knife.

Al covered his ears to block out the screams but to no avail the screams found a way to enter into his hearing. He dropped to his knees and trembled "No… please, stop it… make it stop!" he shouted in terror.

Riza shuddered at the chorus of pain and grasped her forehead, she looked down at Al and went immediately to his side. Hesitantly she grab hold of his shoulder and said silently but firmly, "Al, it's okay, you need to relax…" She gasped as a pair of arms wrapped around the boy and comforted him. She looked up to whom the arms belonged to and found Roy embracing the trembling boy and softly soothing him with calm words.

"Alphonse… don't listen to them… pay attention to only me… it's going to be okay, trust me."

Riza smiled at the Colonel's warm words but that kind moment was then interrupted by the maniacal laughter that was coming from Edward. Ed had his head tilted back so that the insane laugh rose to the sky and almost exceeded the chorus of screams. He jerked his head back into a normal position and covered his face with his right hand, but the laughter didn't stop, "Wonderful! Just wonderful! It's so beautiful those screams! They make up the perfect orcheastra!" Edward caught the attention of his three 'friends'. His hand left his face and revealed a mad glimmer of pure psychotic insanity in his golden eyes, his arms wrapped around himself in a position as if he were cold. Edward continued to grin and laugh as the screams entered his ears and sent chills of sheer excitement down his spine. "HAHAHAHAHA! SO LOVELY! I'VE HAVENT HEARD SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN A LONG TIME!" His swayed back and forth as the laughter quieted down a bit. "It just sends shivers up my spine! Isn't it wonderful! Alphonse? Colonel Mustang? Lieutenant Hawkeye?" he turned to look at them as a wall of fire burst from behind Edward and illuminated his features…

Roy turned to Edward and blinked in sheer horror. For a second – no, a split second he saw something terrifying appear in front of that fire. A monster with horns, raging red eyes, sharp fangs, glistening scales, long claws, spikes, and seven heads. It appeared in Roy's vision for half a second then vanished, replaced by the form of Edward Elric. The Flame Alchemist looked down at his hand and found it trembling then he found a pair of terrified words leave his mouth. "What are you Edward?"

Edward unwrapped his arms from around himself, stopped laughing, and grinned at the Colonel. "I am nothing but a monster with a sole purpose. A hollow shell of what was Edward Elric. And the man who will destroy this world." Edward turned back around to the flames that exploded before his very eyes and closed his eyes. He listened in closely to the going-on screams and opened up his mouth and his voice came spilling out.

_**Orde miri cache adobi mara chika**_

_**Italdi yoake afiri kaditas ordia **_

_**Let us become firewood that has been burnt until we are hollow**_

_** And burn that sky until it is no more**_

_**Arta via **_

_** Lacrimosa dies ilda **_

_**Lacrimosa **_

_** Fallen and born here**_

_**I want to love this blood-soaked world without fear**_

_** Instead of being forgiven, forgive and have faith**_

_** And remain on the face of this earth**_

_** To count the tearful days that pass**_

_**Canta via namari dista doche ta filda amira di noche ita canta via namari dista doche ta filda amira di noche ita di noche ita.**_

_**Arta via**_

_**Esta aa…**_

And that's the end of it. For now it is. But let's get this out:

**I don't own FMA or the Song "Lacrimosa" or the lyrics! I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR ZERO AND PHOENIX!**

** Now that that's out of the way. The song was sung by Kalafina and used in the anime Black Butler as the second ending song. **

**Review Time!**

**Joker Oak: To be honest with you I was going to dress Edward up like I dressed Zero but that wouldn't work out, so I just substituted the tie for a bow and added a top hat. I wanted to add a spectacle but that would be too weird! ^^ Thank you!**

**Mysterious-Becci-D: … Here's more for you! You're very hyper aren't you? Thanks by the way! :D **

**Important announcement: I don't mean to sound greedy or picky but could everyone review a bit more please. I'm grateful for the reviews I have now but getting more would be awesome too!**

**But anyways…**

**Thank you for reading and commenting! **

**Please review!**

**And I never said this but I accept feedbacks…. At least I think that's what its called… :P**


	13. Chapter 13

**Rivers of Angelic Roses:**** Thanks and I know right… I love it! Don't you?**

**AlchemyFreak0218:**** There's nothing bad about that, that chapter was actually the most complicated one for me to write because for some reason I was having trouble figuring out what to put in the science logs… and as for the Edo fangirl or otaku-ness; I'll just say you're an otaku like everyone else… but Ed is not your boyfriend… He's mine! Stay away from him! Nah, I'm kidding, or am I? O.O And it is a little funny seeing him confused, but tortured… okay that's cool too. Thank you for commenting!**

**Prettycream7: ****Thank you and you're very observant aren't you? That's a good thing. To be honest with you I'm pretty sure I was listening to Rewrite when I made up the name… but I can't remember too well… anyways! You want to know why Ed wants to kill Al? Its because Al forced Edward to drink milk XD… nah, just joking but I'm not telling yet. But anyways, thank you and isn't Rewrite (the song) sad at the end of the anime? ;'( **

**Joker Oak:**** Is different good? Hehehe, well to me it is but I'm going to do my best not to stray from the storyline. And here's what you've been looking forward too! Thanks btw!**

**Thank you's to everyone else out there! I'm very happy that you all are still sticking with my story! **

**FMA does NOT belong to me!... Although I wish it did… but that's just an illusion…**

**So now…**

**Chapter 12/ Name**

Edward finally stopped his maniacal singing and laughter; he walked over to Fredrick and smiled sweetly at his terrified expression. "Don't think I've forgotten about you." Edward said while grabbing the collar of his shirt and hoisting Fredrick in the air. "So, how does it feel? How does it feel to know that everything you worked on to create me has come to this?"

"You damn monster…" Fredrick cursed, while spitting in Ed's face.

Ed wiped the spit away with his free hand and smirked dangerously. "I want you to see something Fredrick." Edward walked over to the edge of the shaking building and breathed in the smoke that was coming from the fire. "Do you see it?"

"See what?" he asked with disgust obvious in his voice.

"You can't see it? Well then, maybe we're both seeing different things… but what do you see right now?" Edward asked with actual happiness in his voice. His eyes gleamed down at the people on the sidewalks and streets that were screaming and panicking over the burning hospital, it was his guess that they came out to see what was making all the noise. "What do you see?" Edward asked again.

Fredrick hesitated at answering but spat, "All I see is smoke."

"Look beyond that." Edward simply said.

Fredrick scrunched his nose and coughed, the smoke was starting to get to him. "I see Central City."

"Good, but what could you see besides that? What could see beyond Central?"

"How the hell am I suppose to know!" Fredrick shouted at him in irritation. "Um… houses, apartments, stores, Central HQ, um…" Fredrick stopped talking when he felt a flash of dark aura emitted from Ed, he turned to look at the teenager and saw that undeniably malicious, bloodthirsty smirk, and those golden, dark eyes that were in a half lidded, nonchalant style.

"Remember when I was still deranged in the beginning stages of my 'therapy' and I kept sprouting premonitions of death and chaos?" Edward asked glaring straight down at the scattering people below, "Well, I do believe one of them is about to come true…"

"Central HQ… You don't mean…"

"So do you know what I see?"

Fredrick flinched when the cold hand of Edward landed on his shoulder. Edward smiled warmly at the shaking man and with his other hand grabbed his top hat, and bowed slightly with it in his hand. "Thank you for attending my show but I'm afraid this is your final performance."

"N-no… y-you can't do this!" Fredrick screamed with tears coming out of his eyes. His body shook with uncontrollable trembling and it was obvious that it wasn't coming from the hospital. "Please don't do this! I have a wife and kid at home!"

Suddenly Edward's eyes narrowed to angry slits and his smile turn into a furious frown, his teeth were clenched and the hand on his shoulder tightened its grip. "How pathetic, maybe if you didn't lie I would've just pushed you off the building and let you die a quick death… but now…" Edward put his hat back on; his right arm shoved itself back and then shot forward into Fredrick's chest. Fredrick gasped and screamed in terror, which was enough to get the attention of Roy, Riza, and Al, they all stood up with wide eyes at the scene that was occurring. Edward didn't move his hand as blood from the wound twinkled down the collar of his sleeve his eyes remained angry and focused on Fredrick's face that was now twisting with pain. "You make me sick." He spat as he activated the Philosopher's Stone from within the scientist, and immediately red alchemic sparks consumed the two. Fredrick screamed even louder as pressure built up from his insides and started to tear away at his skin, he could feel his eyes begin to pop out of his sockets and his voice was now stuck in his throat enabling him to scream any longer.

"Edward let go of him!" Roy shouted understanding what the boy was doing. But Edward did not release his hand from inside of Fredrick instead his kept glaring at him with his angry expression.

"I… c-c-created… y-y-you…" Fredrick stammered hardly sounding like himself anymore.

"And like my other creators, you shall die at the hands of your creation." Edward growled. Willingly he furthered the transmutation and applied more pressure until finally it was too much and Fredrick screamed one last note as he could feel his body tearing away. He grudgingly looked at Edward one last time and saw him mouth a question:

_What is my name?_

With his last breath Fredrick said, "Monster." And finally he was no more. His body was nothing more then a splatter of organs and blood on the ground, but one thought came to his mind before his time ended. _You truly are magnificent my monster. _

Edward looked down at the disassembled body parts of what was Fredrick and then looked at his bloody tuxedo that was now covered in crimson colors and chunks of flesh. His expression tuned down to a disgusted and frustrated look, almost making him look confused with his own emotions. "I've sullied my suit." He said quietly to himself, "This won't do… this just won't do…" Edward's back arched forward and his left hand covered the right side of his face. "No… this won't do…" His eyes grew wide with terror and struggle as his body began to shake involuntarily, his hands left his face and then clawed into his head as an upset moan escaped the young blond's lips. Phoenix and Zero stared at Edward for a second but gasped when the ground that was under them began to crumble, it soon became clear that the fire that Edward started was disintegrating the foundation; in other words the whole hospital was about to collapse into dust and rubble. And Edward knew this. He straightened up his back and muttered to himself, "This won't do, this won't do, this won't do…" he continue to repeat that while outspreading his right hand and activating the bloody Philosopher's Stone once again.

His hand was aimed in the direction of Zero and Phoenix who were pondering about what he was doing, but it all became clear when red lightning circled around the both of them and soon consumed them. Suddenly their bodies began to break apart and started to vanish into thin air. The both of them screamed with uncertainty and fear. "Edward! What are you doing?" Phoenix shouted just as the lower half of her body disappeared. "Master, please stop!" Zero shrieked as his arms and chest vanished. Soon they both vanished with their screams echoing in the sounds of cinder. Roy, Riza, and Al stood frightened with disbelief, and horror, their visions turned to Edward who was breathing heavily now and muttering gibberish to himself. His right hand slowly turned in their direction and they soon found themselves incased in that same red alchemic lightning, it was then that they understood why those other teens were screaming. It hurt like hell. The pain of having your body pulled apart molecule by molecule could only force the screams out of them. It was breathtakingly painful that it felt as if someone was reaching down their throats, pulling at their organs, and then turning them inside out by pulling out the flesh from their mouths.

Roy gasped and wheezed but glared at Edward. His dark eyes narrowed to slits that showed his anger, confusion, and sorrow towards the boy. But before he finally vanished he saw Ed's face twist pain and agony, then darkness engulfed him. Riza glanced at Edward for a second then let her eyes turn back to the empty space where Mustang use to be her eyes then filled with worry, and finally she herself disappeared. Being the only one left with only his neck and up Al watched as the two soldiers vanished before his eyes. Before his own eyes were gone he took one last glimpse at his brother and gasped. Edward was looking at him with his eyes shut softly and a warm smile on his face, his head was tilted a bit to the right and a small sentence escaped his lips, "I'm sorry Al, but this is goodbye." Al's eyes grew wide with self-conscienceness when he realized that Edward was actually showing… his emotions again. There wasn't a hint of malice on Edward, not a single evidence of bloodlust but just a brotherly love. Tears started to build in his eyes but soon vanished as the rest of him did. But a single word escaped his mouth before that vanished:

"Brother!"

Edward coughed and staggered from side to side. He was now alone, only the sound of cackling flames and collapsing rubble swarmed around him. "No…no… I can't do this…" he muttered to himself as golden orbs shot open and wide, filled with such agony and terror that it would make anyone shudder. "Yes… I can… come on… have to kill…"

"But I've killed so many people as it is…"

"And I'll kill a thousand more to get what I want… wait that's not right… I can't kill, Al will hate me… he already hates me its really no big deal, no, wait I've killed and killed and killed, what will this amount to? There's no way out for me… no way out, it's so dark… so cold… I can't back down… too late to turn back… only way to go now is forward… yes, I'll kill many more until my goal is fulfilled… right Edward?" Edward clutched his head once again and released a moan. He released his hands and looked at them, a crooked and disturbed smile grew on his face as his eyes shined with perfect insanity, "Ya, these hands are already stained and it won't hurt to stain them some more… it just won't come off and it will never come off… so for now I'll just drown the world in blood… consume it with madness and then destroy it… yes…" suddenly a small chuckle escaped him, then the chuckle changed into a glorious laugh. But just as the laughter filled the air the ground under the alchemist gave and sent him spiraling down into the flames that he created. Edward smirked and said one final thing:

"The world is my stage and the people are my audience, they get to choose rather they like or dislike my act. If they hate me then they'll do something about it, if they like me well…"

And so he plummeted into the flames laughing all the way down as if he was teasing the Devil.

**Nooooo Edo! This isn't the end just yet! Its not over until the fat lady sings… and unfortunately I never understood that meaning and don't really like it that much sooooo…**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Please review!**

**And I hope you all liked this chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Review time!**

**Zeldawolf2000:**** I know right! Thank you for commenting I hope you like this chapter! xD **

**AlchemyFreak0218:**** Thank you and yes I'm going to continue this story! And yes, yes we otakus are messed up… but that's our nature :3 **

**Alice Nyte:**** Who the heck doesn't love insanity! Insanity is awesome! So is madness, you can't go wrong with madness. Thank you! :D**

**FMA does not belong to me! For the fourteenth hundredth time!**

**Now that that's out of the way…**

**ENJOY! x3**

**Chapter 13/ Requiem For The …**

Consciousness was starting to come back as well as aching, stabbing pain. Dark eyes fluttered open as light crept in without warning or mercy, the eyes squinted then forced themselves to fully open taking the full force of the nauseating light. Roy groaned and turned his head to the right catching the sight of a knocked out young teen and his lieutenant. Automatically he sat up and immediately regretted the action, his body went against him and throbbed with burning pain, he collapsed back on his spot and moaned. He came to the assumption that he was laying down on a couch in his office by the looks of it but how did he get there? Forcing himself to sit up again Roy ignored the searing pain in his body and managed to get himself to partially sit up, he looked over at the unconscious bodies of Riza and Al, the both of them were laying on the other couch but they were clearly out cold and deep. But it still didn't make any sense… how did they all get here when Ed… when he… didn't he kill them? "Hey! The Colonel's awake!" the frantic voice of Havoc broke through Roy's thoughts. Havoc was standing in the door frame with his usual trademark cigar hanging out of his mouth, his eyes met with Roy's tired ones for an instant before more soldiers burst through the door and trampled Havoc. The faces of Breda, Fury, Armstrong, and Falman became known as they all crowded around the raven-haired man. A jumble of questions flowed into Roy's ears such as "What happened?" and "Are you feeling alright?" and "Where were you last night?" the questions were hardly audible to him considering that everything was still a little blood shot and hazy. So he decided to ask his question first.

"How did I get here?" his voice was raspy as his senses were slowly regaining their composure. Then everything and everyone went silent. No one moved, they all stared intently and strangely at the Colonel. Not understanding the sudden silence Roy softly scowled and said, "What?"

"You don't know how you got here sir?" Fury spoke up with clear confusion.

Roy shook his head lightly. "Colonel, we found you, Al, and the lieutenant on the floor of your office passed out. We laid you all on the couch when we saw how bad your conditions were." Havoc explained while walking toward him. Roy was wide eyed; he was passed out in his office? That made no sense! Last night, he was… they all were… wait where was he?

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what happened last night?" Fury asked. What **did **happen last night? He couldn't remember anything… it was just too blurry, there was the hospital and a fire and… and… and Edward, wait- Edward! He was there with him! He slaughtered people, he started the fire, and he… he… he sent Roy to his office. Ed didn't kill him; he never intended to kill anyone of them from the very beginning! All he must've done was send them all away from the collapsing hospital using some kind of different form of alchemy, but why did Edward save them? Or did he mean to save them? No, a better question would be where was he? Where had Ed gone after Roy, Riza, and Al vanished? Surely he had to have made it out in time before the building collapsed. Right? "Um, sir?"

Mustang was no longer paying attention to his subordinates' questions; his mind was now completely focused on the even that happened last night. It all came back to him now, every moment and second of what went down and what occurred, the memory was now fully awakened and so a question automatically burst from his tightened lips, "What happened to Central Hospital?"

There it was again. That dangerous, bone-chilling silence that sent invisible chills up Roy's spine. The grim faces that were placed on the soldier's faces revealed something terrible. Something of absolute sorrow and tragedy so he repeated again, "_What happened to Central Hospital?" _

This time Armstrong stepped forth, the wonderful sparkles that usually caressed around him were gone and his face was so tolled with grief it was unbelievable. He looked at Roy with such seriousness that it obviously meant that something was wrong, "The Hospital was burned to dust." Roy gulped his dark eyes grew wide with terror. "There is nothing left of it now but rubble and stray bricks."

"Any survivors?" Roy's voice stumbled.

"As of right now, none. No one has been found."

"How many people were in that hospital?"

"Sir… I…"

"How many!

"… 1,692, sir. Including doctors and patients."

Roy almost choked on his own air. That many people… gone… burned alive or suffocated by smoke… that brought back memories, terrible memories that Roy had hoped to stay in the back of his mind.

"Brother killed that many people?" the quivering voice of a startled Al was heard. Everyone turned to the awakened Al and Riza and gasped, both of them had wide eyes. "No, Brother… he couldn't have killed that many people…" his body was shuddering and an upset frown was graced upon his face as tears were threatening to fall, in which they did. The tears streamed freely down Al's face as Hawkeye slowly embraced him, her arms were wrapped around his trembling body and gave him some warmth as she whispered in his ear.

"Wait what do you mean when you say Brother?" Breda asked, "Are you telling us that Edward destroyed that hospital? Impossible."

"Not really." Roy said with his own grim expression. His dark eyes narrowed to the floor and his hands were clenched together, "You all need to know about what's happened to Ed so what I'm about to tell all of you remains secret…"

…

Shocked faces. Sad faces. The ones who didn't know the story were everything but happy and the ones who lived through the story remained in their same state.

Roy coughed through the still silence that had been born after he had finished explaining what had happened to this point. His hand went into his pocket and felt something hard and smooth, he grasped the object and pulled it out revealing a regular sized disk. Then a remembrance of a clue echoed in his head:

"_The Promised Future will come again, but until then solve the mystery of the Grand Event."_

Promised Future? Grand Event? Roy looked back to the disk in his hands then stood. With a heavy burden and hidden sorrow in his voice he announced to everyone, "We ALL need to see this disk."

…

It didn't take long for a DVD player and TV to be set up in Roy's office. Al closed all the doors and windows to make sure no one was watching. Everyone crowded the TV as Roy began to insert the disk but as a warning he said to them, "What you all are about to see is what those damn scientists did to Edward, so this isn't fake. I haven't watched this yet so I personally don't know the specifics of what's on here. So…" he trailed off his words. With hesitation he inserted the disk and turned on the TV.

And so the video began.

**Cliffy! I couldn't resist, this was too tempting! Anyways though thank you all for reading and I await to know what you all think! And sorry it's so short, I promise all of you a nice, well-written, long chapter next time! But you all must review, I need to really know if I should continue this story and I need to know what mistakes I may be making! So…**

**Please Review! **

**And stay in school!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Review Time!**

**AlchemyFreak0218:**** You're wait won't be in vain… here's a good chapter and thank you.**

**The Homunculus Alchemist: ****Here you go and thank you for commenting.**

**Mysterious-Becci-D:**** I'm starting to like making cliffhangers. They're really fun actually, and thank you.**

**GoldenMoonshine:**** Thanks for liking my story, so here's an update for you. :3**

**So…**

**Chapter 14/ Reality Chess**

_ Ed was shivering all too violently for his body to correspond with his mind… or at least what was left of his mind. His body was completely exposed, from top to bottom there were no clothes on him, he was nude in the eyes of those scientists. His body revealed multiple bruises and newly arrived scars, obviously telling anyone who saw him in that condition that he was beaten. Two men without lab coats grabbed the blond by under his arms and pulled him away, the men strapped Ed to a regular wooden chair but didn't do it completely without having him thrash about in a confused state of mind. They restrained his arms and legs by strapping them to the chair, leaving only his shivering body and shaking head. The men thumbed up the scientists around them and left the room, behind Ed was a giant tank of some kind of blue liquid although he didn't notice it. "Alphonse…" he whispered. "Alphonse…" a man in a white lab coat approached Ed and strapped some kind of cable cord to the back of his chair, the scientist nodded his head and Ed's chair began to rise in the air. It moved over the blue liquid tank and stood still for a second, Edward looked down into it and shivered more. "Alphonse…" he said a bit louder. "Alphonse…" he began to call out. _

_ Then he dropped into liquid._

_ "ALPHONSE!" _

_ He sank into the bottom of the tank and lost his breath. The liquid flowed into him. It forced its way through his nose, mouth, and ears, it deepened into his body and made his eyes open wide to a most disturbing fright. It was too much. The liquid was overflowing him. It was consuming him. His mouth burst open as small remnants of hidden breaths forced their way from his throat; his lungs were burning with a black flame and threatening to burst like a balloon without needed oxygen. Then pressure was impacted upon his head, it came faster, and soon he burst through the surface of the liquid gasping for the life saving air. His chest went up and down like crazy and his golden eyes were blood shot with horrified expressions. He caught his breath and whispered again "Al… help me…"_

_ Then he dropped again._

_ The liquid once again forced its way into his body and stirred within his systems and bloodstreams. This time Ed had enough sense to actually concentrate on the foreign blue substance. It had a small taste to it… it was clear that it wasn't water. So then what was it? He was resurfaced again gasping for a short breath then he was put back down again, it was all too much. The beatings he had received before this was only the first step to breaking him. He couldn't let them shatter him… he had to remember himself but it was beginning to get difficult. Everything was blurring… everything was destroying… everything was vanishing…_

_ Everything was vanishing…_

_ Everything was vanishing…_

_ At that moment Ed opened his mouth and unleashed a scream from inside the tank. He was immediately resurfaced but he kept on screaming. It was a pain filled shriek that would send shivers down anyone's spine, his eyes were wide with terror and absolute fear and anguish was tightening the skin on his face. Golden bangs were soaked with that unknown liquid and his body was tensed and shriveled with mistreatment. The screaming continued as Ed was once again dunked into the substance._

_ When he finally came up, only word name was called out in his shrieking agonizing tone, "ALPHONSE!" And so he repeated the name for the next twenty minutes he was dunked._

_ ..._

_ After the twenty minutes was over, Ed was down on the ground still strapped to the chair, his body was shivering violently from the exposure to the cold elements. Two men approached him and carefully unstrapped his arms and legs; they took hold of Edward by his under arms and cautiously held him up. "Alphonse… alphonse… alphonse…" he silently repeated._

_ "Is the specimen damaged in any way?" a scientist asked the men._

_ "No sir." The men responded._

_ "Good. Now take him to the lab immediately, we don't want the serum to wear off before we can perform the transmutation." The scientist ordered pointing in the direction of a clear white room in the distance._

_ "Yes sir!" the men responded._

_ "Alphonse… Alphonse… Alphonse…Alphonse…" Ed continued to repeat, catching the attention of the men holding him. "Alphonse… Alphonse… Alphonse… Help me…" his breathing started to become irregular, blood began to pulsate eagerly throughout his veins and heartbeats were threatening to burst through his chest. "Alphonse… Alphonse…" The men carried Edward into the lab and placed him on a table, once again Ed was strapped down but this time his sides, head, neck, thighs, and chest were all restrained by hard material restraints._

_ Golden eyes were still ravaged with terrible fear but they were so distant from the situation and reality he was in… it was as if he was looking straight through death and beyond something mysterious… _

_ "Is he secured?"_

_ "Yes sir!"_

_ "Are the preparations complete?"_

_ "Yes sir!"_

_ "Then let's begin." The scientists all went to their positions and all kept a distant and safe range away from the restrained alchemist, because underneath the boy was a transmutation circle carved into the ground. They all went to certain points outside of the circle and prepared to activate it, the two men that were helping them stood inside of the circle almost next to Edward. _

_ "Everyone ready?" one scientist asked. Everyone nodded in response._

_ "Alphonse… Alphonse…"_

_ "Then begin." Ordered a scientist known as Primo Xenos. There hands fell upon the circle and activated it, a blood red and dark black light erupted from the circle as three screams echoed throughout the room. Two of them being the two men who were inside of the circle but the other being Edward who was thrashing about, begging to be lifted from his restraints. He screamed, he thrashed, he screamed, he yelled out one name in particular._

_ "ALPHONSE! ALPHONSE! ALPHONSE!" Soon the two men began to disintegrate and break apart by the forces of alchemy, leaving only Edward to scream out in sheer pain as he too began to break apart. Soon he was gone but the light didn't disappear. After what seemed to be hours but only fifteen minutes, Edward returned in his same restraints and in his same place. He wasn't screaming anymore, but his eyes were wide open with absolute and alone terror and shock. His mouth was moving so fast but his voice wasn't coming out or no one could hear him. The light from the transmutation vanished and all the scientists stood up from their spots. Primo slowly approached Edward and looked him dead in the eye, catching some of Ed's lost and uncontrollable mumbling._

_ "Al… Mustang. Human transmutation… world, homunculi, armor, automail… mother… Hohenhiem of Light… Colonel Bastard, Nina, Ms. Hawkeye… Breda… Pride, Tucker, chimeras, alchemy… the Gate… Truth… Truth… Truth… Alphonse… Havoc, Hughes… Envy…" And it kept going. He continued to say words and names that seemed to be apart of his memory and that pleased Primo. He smiled and announced to his fellow co-workers, "First step is complete. Someone get the Director, we're going ahead to the Rewrite stage!"_

_ "Yes sir!"_

_ And the video cut off._

It was the same reaction as before. Shocked, terrified, startled, and worried expressions on everyone. But the one who had the worst face out of everyone was Al himself. "Those bastards." He hissed, tears threatening to flow down his cheeks.

"What the hell did they do to Ed?" Fury asked completely terrified.

"They took him to the Gate." Al stuttered, "They sacrificed those men as the toll for getting Ed to the Gate… I just don't know what he did there…"

"The Gate?" Mustang spoke up. "Then that only means that they committed-"

"Human transmutation, yes." Al slowly said. "But what did the first part mean? I don't understand it…"

"It's just a guess but when they said 'we don't want the serum to wear off', I would say that they… soaked Edward in a type of drug." Hawkeye said, uncertain of her own hypothesis. "But why would they do all this?"

"To get Edward to forget his past." Mustang said in a stern tone. "All the pieces are coming together now, but there's still one piece that's missing…" _The Promised Future will come again, but until then solve the mystery of the Grand Event. _Yes, all the pieces are coming together… but is this what Ed wants? Are we just playing a part in this sick game of his? Well, if we are then I'll just have to go along with it and out maneuver his playing field when the time comes… "Everyone, from this point on we'll be focusing on one thing and one thing only. I want everyone to find out anything about a specific event called the _Grand Event_, if any information is found then bring it to me immediately do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" his team answered.

"Good, and no one tells a soul about this. Now get to work!" Mustang ordered. _Edward, whatever game you're playing with us will end one way or another._

...

"Master, did you have to be so rough with the teleportation? That really hurt." Zero complained as he looked at his forming claws.

"I doubt he could've made it any painless." Phoenix sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Remember that this is alchemy we're talking about. Although I'm still a bit sore from the breaking apart and being reconstructed part."

"Me too!" Whined Zero as he fussed around in his bed. "So Master, what is your plan from this point on?"

A small smile graced Ed's face as he walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his neck. His shirt was off and revealed his deformed and scarred upper chest, which was now dripping wet from the shower he had just taken, his hair was back in a ponytail and his eyes were back in a usual half-lidded style. "The King has moved." He said.

"And it looks like his pawns are following after him." sneered Phoenix as her hands ran down her black hair.

"And as the pawns follow…" Edward slowly inserted.

"Then they slowly fall and become ours." Zero hissed, his mouth in a fang filled smirk.

"Correct." Edward mused, "But now it's my turn. Our next move is to Central HQ, I'm going to pay a visit to an old friend of mine…"

**Sorry, too exhausted to say anything else. I'm coming down with some depression and a sickness so thank you all for reading and please review! **

**Thank you! And I need to get to get to 40 reviews before I can update again, and it doesn't matter about what you say.**

**Thank you all for reading and I hope all of you enjoyed it!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Review Time!**

**Mysterious-Becci-D:**** Thank you! *****High fiving you again* Hope you like this chapter!**

**GoldenMoonshine:**** LOL xD…. Thanks for reviewing again and yes, Ed has been through so much… which is why I'm putting through some more crap :3! But if you thought that was terrible, just wait until you read more…**

**Zeldawolf2000:**** Here's a new chapter for you! Truth is really an asshole but he's - is he a he? Or an it? O.o – very interesting to have in a story. Thank you!**

**AlchemyFreak0218:**** There was mind reading stuff? O.o. And it's okay if you flame, I rather hear what my readers think of the story, no matter how bad their comments are. But I guess that was somewhat my goal to make Ed a little obsessed but in truth, I was trying to make him seem a bit helpless… or something along those lines. Thanks for sharing!**

**No idea who you are but…:**** Um, there hasn't been any RoyEd so far in the story but if you think it suck, then that's your opinion.**

**Darkee-san:**** Who doesn't love an insane, evil Edward? And you can expect for their to be more madness… what would this story be with insanity? It's like Black Butler without Sebby! And trust me when I say, this story is far from done. Thank you!**

**And now without further ado…**

**Chapter 15/ Grand Event**

It was just frustrating.

Every little freaking small detail was just frustrating to the Colonel's eyes. This was like solving a 250-piece jigsaw puzzle only the pieces looked the _exact freaking same. _Roy groaned and rubbed his forehead, the papers that were in front of him on his desk blocked his vision from his co-workers. He had been looking through paper after paper, signing paper after paper, and quite angrily burning paper after paper and yet he still found nothing about this Grand Event. Of course he couldn't forget his own work, so he had to work twice as hard. His hands were cramping like crazy and his head was threatening to explode with the overdose of useless information. He was trying to separate the useless info from the useful info in his mind and so far that was getting him zero results. He laid he head down on his desk and messed with a small pencil, he just couldn't understand any of this. The news of what happened to Central Hospital was ravaging all across town and soon it would spread all across Amestris. There was actually a memorial said to be built for all the people who died in the hospital, what a predictable notion… of course no one knew exactly what happened to the hospital except for him, Al, and the rest of his team.

It was just a disaster… he found nothing… thought of nothing and only had one question in his mind. Was Fullmetal still alive? The question was always bouncing off the corners of his mind and edging him on to the brink of curiosity and worry. Had Edward escaped the building before it collapsed? The bodies that were found were mangled and unrecognizable thanks to the flames but as of right now, no survivors were found. And in honest truth Roy doubted there was anyone left alive after the collapse… which meant Edward probably, didn't survive… or maybe he might've transported himself away…

"Um Colonel?" the voice of Breda reached Roy's ears. "I think we've found something." Roy instantly sat up; his tired eyes faced Breda but then turned to a familiar brown-haired girl. Breda saw the distraught that appeared in his dark eyes and quickly explained, "I'm sorry sir but I told her everything but she knows a little information about the Grand Event."

Sheska took a step forward and bowed lightly. Roy sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Very well then, what do you know?" he asked the woman.

"Um, well sir, actually very little but I think it would be enough to-"

"Just tell me."

Sheska jumped with shock. "Yes sir! Well, it was actually a top secret meeting that was planned in Lior a couple of years back…"

"Years? That doesn't make sense, where did you get this information?" Roy asked leaning forward and putting his hands together.

"I remember small parts of it that were in a book while I was still working at Central Library." She sighed briefly then continued, "But unfortunately there wasn't much info on the topic. All I know is that it was stationed in Lior at least five to six years ago and the purpose of that secret was to create a bright future or something along those lines."

Bright future? Roy thought about that… _promised future… bright future… _"Do you know the people who were part of the meeting?"

"Um, if I recall I believe they were all… scientists and alchemists, maybe a few higher up military officers…"

"Interesting…" Roy mused to himself, "Is that all you know?" Sheska nodded. "Alright then, since you now know exactly what has happened you are not allowed to tell anyone. Not a soul, got it?" Sheska stayed quiet for a bit and lowered her head. "_That's an order." _Roy said in his stern tone of voice.

"Yes sir." She mumbled. "I just can't believe that Edward would do such things… it doesn't seem like him."

"That's because he's not himself. That's why we need to find out the secret to this Grand Event, to find out what went on within Ed's disappearance and find a way to help him." _But if this behavior goes on to extreme levels… _"Thank you for the info." He said lightly while waving off Sheska and Breda.

Great. He was back to square one again. Roy grumbled and leaned back further into his chair. Where to start… it just seems like this was just a game to Ed. But what was his motivation? Why was he doing this? And… where did he get that Philosopher's Stone? There were so many questions left unanswered and were hiding behind a new mystery. It was like a lie inside of a lie… wait, a lie inside of a lie… the truth within the truth. Maybe there is something he's missing. Something that is right under his nose… something that is shooting him in the face. But what was it?

Lior, that was where the Grand Event was placed. Where it began… or did it? It was held a few years back… but Edward was stating that he was there. So that couldn't be possible… or could it? Against everything that has happened up to this point, it seemed like the truth was just the top priority at every corner…

"Colonel!" Riza burst through the door. "There's someone here who needs to talk to you."

"Tell whoever it is to wait. I'm to busy for-"

"I believe you would want to talk to me about my son. Colonel Roy Mustang." A stern and yet soft voice said. A blond haired, middle-aged man, who was older then he appeared, pushed past the Lieutenant and murmured a faint 'excuse me' to her. Roy's eyes went wide as he stood up from his chair and absorbed the unexpected appearance of this man.

"Hohenhiem of Light." He said still shocked by the unexpected visit.

"Now I believe you have a lot to talk about and I have a lot to explain."

…

Fuhrer Grumman walked down the hallways and headed back to his own office. He had been piled up with work and questions about the tragedy that befell Central Hospital and quite frankly, it was rattling his old bones. The mystery of how the hospital was destroyed was solved, it was the cause of carbon monoxide with a mixture of fire, but now the question of who caused it was still unsolved. Behind Grumman were two soldiers that were under orders to guard him, one of them had their face and hair covered by their uniform while the other was always looking down and around.

Grumman opened the doors to his office and sighed. It was a relief to relax but there was still so much work left to do. The men behind him closed the door once he had entered and took their places beside the door. Grumman walked over to his desk but stopped dead when a voice met his ears. "Hello Fuhrer sir." It was a low and soft voice, decent and young. Grumman's chair began to twirl and revealed a golden-haired young man holding a glass of blood red wine. "It's very nice to meet you."

Automatically the two bodyguards cocked their guns and aimed them at Edward. "The Fullmetal Alchemist… you're alive." Grumman whispered hardly sounding at all.

"Yes, fortunately alive and still kicking." Edward brought the wine to his lips and drank more of it. He played around with it and finally put it down on the desk. Ed's hand reached down into his coat pocket and swiftly took out a gun of his own.

Suddenly a gunshot went off. Grumman turned around to see the shaded officer dropping his gun as soon as he fired it at the other military officer. The soldier turned to Grumman, took off his hat and revealed his long purple hair and face. The gun pointed to Grumman as Ed stood up from the desk and walked around to Grumman. "We have to talk Fuhrer…"

…

"Ah, so that's everything." Hohenheim sighed rubbing his forehead with his hand. "You haven't excluded anything from me?"

"No, that's everything." Roy answered. That's the least thing he wanted to do. He had told Hohenhiem everything that he knew; he even showed him the two videos. "Now its your turn. What is there to explain?"

Hohenhiem shrunk into the sofa he was sitting in and sighed. "I suppose I do have a lot to explain," he took in a deep breath and began, "I guess the first thing I should begin saying would be that I was once the head scientist of this experiment." Coal-black eyes instantly went wide with anger but before Roy could make an outburst Hohenhiem raised his hand and continued, "But I soon ordered an immediate shut down of the experiment and disbanded my team several years ago."

"So then why the hell is it still going on if you put a stop to it? And what reason was Ed chosen as a test subject?" Roy asked in a furious growl.

"Project Phoenix."

"What?"

"That was the name of the experiment. Its purpose was strictly top secret and posed for enormous funding, which is where Amestris's government comes in. The military funded the entire research project, giving us whatever we needed to complete the project. But there came a problem later on in the experiments, the test subjects all died in a gruesome way. From killing themselves to dying from inhumane insanity, they all ended up sharing the same fate… and our test subjects were all children at least older than the age of thirteen." Hohenhiem grimaced as memories resurfaced but he kept on going, "Project Phoenix was resolved as a failing progress and was immediately shut down by me… there were people who were against stopping the experiments but that problem was also resolved by me… that was over twenty years ago though."

"So someone has restarted the project, with the intentions of finishing it once and for all." Roy filled in, "But who? Was there anyone who was furious enough with you to continue?"

Hohenhiem thought about this for a second. "Not that I can recall… though there was one person but he died over twelve years ago due to an unfortunate accident."

"So, what was the purpose of the project? And what exactly are the steps that are taken?" Roy included saying, "We already know about Rewrite and-"

"That's the thing, whoever it is who is controlling Project Phoenix now has completely rearranged my own method and process." Hohenhiem grimaced and scowled, "I'm sorry to say that I don't know the methods of this new process nor unfortunately do I remember the specifics of the experiment, I disintegrated every aspect of my work years ago along with the blueprints so that nothing like that could happen again."

Roy sighed upsettingly. So he practically knew nothing like the rest of them, but maybe… "Do you know about the Grand Event?"

"The Grand Event?" Hohenhiem repeated. That name was familiar to him, yes… it was so familiar and yet he couldn't exactly remember the signifagence of the… wait – Grand Event… that very name, yes, it was coming back to him… every detail. Every action. And that one tragedy that made history… and erased itself from the very face of the earth. "No, I've never heard of it. Why?"

Roy scanned over Hohenhiem's face. He knew a liar when he saw one and it was deathly obvious that Hohenhiem was lying to him… but the only question is why? "Because for some reason, records are indicating that this Grand Event happened several years ago, while the one Ed was talking about happened sometime this year."

"Strange."

"Strange indeed. Now I can't believe I'm asking this but do you know anyone who was with you during that project?"

"Nash Tringhem."

"Tringhem? I'm sorry to say but he's been dead for-"

"Yes, I'm aware that he's died but his sons probably know about-"

Suddenly a dark-haired soldier opened the door to the office and announced, "Colonel Mustang sir, the Fuhrer has requested to see you!"

"The Fuhrer?" Mustang said to himself confused.

**Yep, I'm working on a chapter while I should be doing my homework. Oh well, anyways, sorry this chapter was poorly written. I'm so stressed as a freshman and research papers are already burying me in work… so anyways!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review!**

**And I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Warning: This has a bit of yaoi in it but nothing severe.**

**Thank you! And enjoy!**

**Chapter 16/ Fuhrer at Edge**

Roy's eyes were at their widest point. His eyes first crossed over to Grumman who was being restrained by a purple haired young man then followed over to the shot and bloodied corpse of a soldier, and finally coal eyes set sight on the blond teenager who was sitting on the Fuhrer's desk. He had a glass of wine in one hand while a gun in the other lay still at his side. "Edward…" Roy said in a confused tone. Why was he here?

"Welcome, Colonel Bastard!" Edward exclaimed with a bright smile on his face. "I'm glad to see that you're still alive, good because if you weren't that would cause some problem for me…" Ed lifted the glass of wine to his lips and sipped it. He put it back down, takes a breath and looks back at Roy, "So, what have you found out so far about me?"

Roy shook off his shock and returned his expression to a poker face. "A better question would be, why are you here, Fullmetal?"

"Now that is a good question." Edward swooned, jumping off the desk and in front of Roy. "But not a smart one. Tell me Colonel, what would you do if I told I went to the Gate again but got something more… _primitive _taken from me and gained something that shattered me?"

"Then I would say you've lost your mind." Mustang sneered.

"Quite literally actually." Edward mused with an evil grin upon his face. He walked closer to Mustang so that they were face to face and their eyes met exactly as Ed set the climax, "I gained almost all of the knowledge in the Gate, it was magnificent. The knowledge I gained with those scientists performed human transmutation on me was more intellectual then what I gained when I tried to bring my mother back… of course the price was high and quite _damaging_."

"What did the Gate take, Edward?" Roy asked in a firm tone as his coal black eyes stared down on Ed with serious beyond comprehension.

Ed chuckled for a bit and closed his eyes. He stopped chuckling and bored his golden eyes straight into black ones, "It took half of my mind… half of my brain…" Ed slowly lifted the wine glass to his lips, as Roy's eyes grew wider to the point that his poker face had fallen.

"That can't be… possible…" Grumman spoke up as he interrupted the conversation.

"It's fully possible, Fuhrer Grumman." Edward sneered as he glared at the old man then said to Zero, "Would you mind knocking him out Zero? I just want to talk between the Colonel and I, his talk with me is over." Zero nodded and grabbed out of his pocket a small handkerchief. He pressed the handkerchief against Grumman's mouth and nose the Fuhrer began to struggle out of Zero's grip but was soon knocked out cold when he inhaled the toxins on the small hanky.

"Good. Now where was I… oh yes!" Ed turned back to Roy and said, "As an alchemist, Colonel you should that its fully possible for such a thing to be taken." Edward glared straight into the Colonel's eyes and through gritted teeth he continued, "Of course this poses problems for me. What do you do when you have so much knowledge packed inside of your head and you have half of your brain missing? Nothing. You can't do anything when you're a complete legal moron. I couldn't do anything, walking, crawling, running, eating, or even thinking; _I couldn't do any of those things_. Though those scientists still put me through experiments… they cut me, probe me, injected me with drugs of all different kinds and for what reason? Everyday I had migraines, mind splitting headaches that would make a grown man cry. Every goddamn day I experienced pain beyond even my comprehension…" In a fury Edward tossed his wine glass into the wall and watched with hatred filled eyes as the glass shattered and blood red wine slips down the wall. "_Every god damn day was painful._"

Roy was speechless. An understanding occurred to him, he really had no idea what Ed had been through. But could it be possible that Edward was making this… no, it wasn't. Roy could see it in the young man's eyes that everything he said was deathly true. And that's what scared him. What the hell did those people put Ed though? Then something else occurred to him, "Are you doing this for revenge?"

Edward didn't show it but he jumped a little inside. A smirk curled at his lips as that sweet, cunning voice came out, "No, not for the sake of revenge. I'm doing this for a much bigger cause, a more prize-winning compensation. And guess what Colonel, you're the main competitor."

"Quit with the nonsense Fullmetal and get to the point." Roy snapped, getting a bit irritable.

"I'm saying that you're the King and you're Knight is about to make a move." Edward said his eyes snapping wide open with that insane gleam.

"Is this all a game to you?" Roy asked becoming angrier at this conversation.

"You could say that but isn't life a game too?"

"Life isn't a game. In games you get chances and unlimited lives but in life you get one chance to make things right and only one life to live."

"So it's a real life stupid game." Edward gleamed.

"Enough of this Edward! Just tell me what-" Before Roy could finish his sentence Edward unexpectedly slammed his lips against Roy's. Edward moaned as he forced himself into Roy's entrance and began to swirl his tongue around. Roy quickly took a firm hold of Ed's shoulders and yanked the blond off him causing him to fall to the floor. Roy gasped and wheezed as his hand was brought to his mouth and anger blazed through his speech, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" He screamed.

Edward lowered his head so that his bangs shadowed over his eyes and wiped his lips. A smile crept onto Ed's lips as he said, "I was hoping to get you to swallow both of them but…" he stuck his tongue out and revealed a small capsule, "one wdill do."

All at once Roy felt a wave of dizziness and anger overwhelm him then darkness consumed him as he collapsed on the ground.

…

When Roy came to his head was pounding. His body ached and his muscles were soft and throbbing with unusual pain. His eyes fluttered open as darkness entered his vision, he was in a room that much was clear. His hand wandered over to his forehead as a low groan escaped his lips and his head spun when a wave of nausea ran through him, his body arched as the realization that he was in a bed came into thought. Roy opened his eyes fully and groaned louder as he pushed himself to sit up; muscles throbbed in protest of the movement. Black eyes cast over his body as he found out that he was completely naked, a blanket covered the lower parts of his body and another wave of nausea washed over him. Mustang clutched his bare stomach and moaned. What the hell happened?

_**God bless our king it's a bright light day**_

_** Let us worship in your triumph**_

__Roy turned his head immediately to whose voice was singing and who he found hardly surprised him. Edward stood in front of a close curtain with a black robe on and his hair hanging loosely down. He opened his mouth and continued to sing.

_**And this story is mine and this moment is mine**_

_** Can I steal your pain and shed its away**_

_** To amend this pain, to avoid this pain**_

_** Can I share this pain and carry away?**_

_** And this story is mine and this moment is mine**_

_** Can I steal your pain and shed its away**_

_** To amend this pain to avoid this pain**_

_** Can I share this pain and keep away?**_

_** Lalalalalala**_

_** To the day in my new era**_

_** Lalalalalala**_

_** To the day in my dreaming land**_

__Edward slowly turned to Roy and smiled,

_**Towards the light and this moment is mine**_

_** Can I steal your pain and shed it away**_

_** Towards the light and this moment is mine**_

_** Can I steal your pain and shed it away**_

__Edward stopped singing and dropped his smile to a minor frown. "This song has yet to be completed, Colonel. Its up to you to decide how it will end but for now I'll give you your next clue." Ed walked over to Roy and slowly said, "The truth inside of the truth while the truth resides within."

And with that Roy Mustang passed out again.

**I own nothing! None of this belongs to me! I don't own FMA or the song!**

** Anyways, I'm going to wait until next chapter to do the reviews so wait until then. Sigh… high school truly is a bitch.**

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**And please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**REVIEWS!**

**GoldenMoonshine: ****Will he go back to normal? Not telling you yet or anyone for that matter xD. Papa Hoho? That's a funny name to call him XD I love it, thanks for reviewing again! Btw you're right, there are a lot of questions that are unsolved… for now! This story is just beginning!**

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**A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating as much as I use to. I'm a freshman and my grades are falling so I'm trying to balance out my schedule but I will try to update whenever I get the free time to do so. Though… I still have my other stories to complete… BUT I DO NOT PLAN ON DISCONTINUEING ANY OF MY STORIES! So thank you all for being patient with me and enjoy reading this chapter.**

**FMA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME!**

**Chapter 17: Scenery for World's End**

"Colonel Mustang? Colonel Mustang, wake up." A low uncertain voice whispered in the Colonel's ears. Roy rustled a bit and cracked open his eyes but quickly shut them tightly once pain struck his mind. His head was banging with a merciless headache that made him groan, but you would've thought that he would get use to these kinds of headaches. "Colonel Mustang…" that voice again. Roy slowly sat himself up his body was still aching. His muscles were protesting against the new movements and his head was still pounding, a stab of pain penetrated his abdomen and nausea swept over him again. He arched his back and held back the bile that had come up his throat. "Colonel Mustang, are you alright?" That same voice again but he needed a face to go with it. Roy forced his eyes to open again and grimaced, it was too bright. The light forced upon him another wave of pain as the face of Sheska showed through that blinding light. "Colonel sir, what are you doing here?"

"What…?" Roy was confused and the world was moving from side to side not giving him any times to contemplate his thoughts. He slowly looked around and find himself on the floor of his office, how the hell did he get there? All memories of what happened before this were a blur, there were memories of what happened with the Fuhrer… of what Ed had told him… then after that he woke up in that bed, what did he… he… _oh god. _What did Edward do to him after he was knocked out? The memories were too much of a blurred mess to figure it out completely. There were only small bits of it… pain… pleasure… blood… and… Ed, what exactly did he do?

"Colonel, where have you been these past few days?" Sheska asked.

_Days? _"How long was I gone?" he decided to ask.

"For three days sir." Sheska answered a bit uneasily.

_That long? _"Is it… morning?"

"Yes sir."

"Then why are you here so early?"

"Oh. Because sir, I was hoping you would be here so that I may give you this." Sheska reached into her small book bag and pulled out a small file. "This is more information on the Grand Event in Lior. Mr. Hohenhiem helped me gather this from what little sources we had."

"Ah, Thank you, Sheska." Roy mumbled while taking the file, "I'll look at these right away and GAH!" Roy fell face down on the floor, his forehead cushioning his fall. He began to groan as blinding pain erupted in his abdomen as well as his head. Colorful flashing lights blew up in his vision as his arm wrapped around his sides while his hand involuntarily clutched his hair; it was bloody terrible. The pain was synchronizing with each other and resonating to new dangerous levels, Roy could barely hear Sheska's wild screams of panic or even separate them from the drums that banged loudly in his mind. The pain increased even more and sent him crashing slower and slower into yet another unconscious state. _No… damnit! I can't pass out again! _Darkness began to creep into his vision and the world started to blur and vanish… _damnit_… as the pain racked his sore body, darkness finally consumed him and Roy fell once again into oblivion.

_In his mind Roy looked around and became startled at the environment around him. Nothing. It was absolutely nothing. It was a barren wasteland with no loving organism in sight. The wind blew furiously and deadly while the sky was a gray cloudless sight with nothing to it, an overwhelming sense of depression enveloped around the Colonel as the hard, cracked ground below him whistled air from under him. This place was like a reversed and abandoned hell without any signs of life with miles._

_ "Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice behind Roy commented. Mustang turned around to the voice that gave proof that a life existed and sighed. _

_ "You again." Roy sighed with a frown on his face. _

_ "Hello again, Colonel Mustang." Edward said in a monotone sort of voice. "I take it your not surprised to see me?"_

_ "I've seen you too many times already to even pretend to be surprised." Roy dully said. "How the hell are you here?"_

_ Ed shrugged and said, "I don't know, I'm just lingering around." He then put on a soft smile and asked, "But don't you think this place is beautiful Colonel?"_

_ "Beautiful? Of course it is if you like barren lifeless wastelands." Roy scoffed with a smirk on his face. "What the hell is this place?"_

_ "You should know Colonel." Edward said with delight exposing in his voice._

_ "I don't and why would I?"_

_ "Because you and I are the only ones that can actually see this place." Edward mused, "It's possible for Al to see it but he refuses to, he hasn't completely opened his eyes…"_

_ "What do you mean, Fullmetal?" Roy asked his voice returning to a serious and deadly tone. His smirk dropped and everything around the two of them froze in time. Roy and Ed locked their eyes to each other. Black glaring into golden. Serious burning into hidden anger. Sanity against insanity. They glared at each for the longest of moments when Ed finally decided to speak._

_ "We're the same, Roy."_

_ "And what the hell is that suppose to mean?" Roy asked becoming a bit upset over the circumstances._

_ "You may not know it but we're the same in many ways than one, that's the reason why you can see this place." Edward said with a glum frown on his face. "Colonel, you have the potential to see the world like I see it and yet you're not taking the necessary chances."_

_ "Edward, we are not the same in any way." Roy scoffed with his anger hidden in his eyes. "You're deranged Edward and you're killing thousands of innocents for no explicable reason. Are you even aware of what your doing?"_

_ "I am aware, I'm fully aware Colonel but if only you could see through my eyes… if only you could understand what I've seen and what I know." Edward said with his eyes beginning to gleam with that unknown insanity._

_ "What you understand isn't logic at all. Ed, you don't have to continue with this. I can help you, we can help you, and all you have to do is give up this maniac charade."_

_ "Well, I'm sorry to say this but I'm not giving up what I've just started."_

_ "Well then, I'm sorry to say that I might have to put you down if you refuse to stop this."_

_ "Put me down? Are you saying that I'm a stray dog?" Edward asked with a tilt of his head._

_ "You're just a rabid animal, you're no longer a dog but something much worse."_

_ "Interesting…" Ed mused while holding his forehead. "But remember this Colonel, you have the potential to see this place which means you have the necessary wills to be exactly like me… you are able to see this wonderful scenery… This is the Scenery for World's End."_

_ Black eyes narrowed in irritation. "It's time for you to wake up now." Ed smirked. Roy felt a sudden pain strike his chest as his surroundings started to vanish._

_ "_The truth inside of the truth while the truth resides within."

_And as the desolate world around him melted into oblivion Roy once again fell into an endless darkness of agony, the pain traveled his body and shocked him back into the land of the living…_

It all just happened so fast. The pain, the voices, the panic, it came on him so fast. His black eyes opened up to the blurred sights of Hohenhiem, Al, Hawkeye, and the rest of his team, they looked frightened at something… but what? His body ached with absolute pain as the notion to stay awake seemed like too much of an effort for him. Hohenhiem was standing over him and his eyes were scanning over his body, Roy took a weak guess and thought he must be on the sofa… but that didn't explain what happened in the time that he was unconsciousness. He slowly lifted his head and cringed, it was a greater trouble to even do that, when Roy lifted his head tall enough he gasped in horror.

The skin on his stomach was peeling off in clumps and was soaked in fresh blood, _his _blood. The basis of his abdomen looked like the skin was raw as his life sustaining liquid coated it and continued to bleed heavily from an open wound that had something protruding from it, suddenly pain struck him again without mercy. The colonel jerked his head back, stifled a scream and groaned, he shut his eyes tightly as the blond haired man approached him closely and said, "Colonel Mustang, can you hear me?"

Only slightly could he but it was audible. Roy weakly nodded his head. "Good, now I'm going to try to whatever this is out of you, this may hurt so I need you to bare with me, okay?" Once again he nodded. Hohenhiem breathed and raised his hand, with a determined look on his face his shot his hand down onto Roy and pierced into his abdomen. Immediately Mustang released the scream he had been holding back as alchemic lightning started to emerge all around him. "Hold him!" Hohenhiem shouted as the colonel began to thrash wildly. Al, Havoc and Breda grasped the thrashing limbs and held the colonel down with all their strength.

"Almost done…" Hohenhiem groaned as the alchemic lights grew brighter and tensed the air around them. His hand slowly began to retract from the colonel's body while it was holding something from what came from inside Roy. With one final grunt Hohenhiem pulled his hand out and away from the Colonel as it was holding a blood covered object, the alchemic lights died down as Roy was left gasping for air while his body was shivering with soon to come convulsions. Everything around him spinned and shook as his eyes opened to the bright world he lifted his head and glanced up at his abs area, the once raw skin that was there was gone and healed. Fresh blood was caked over him but the wound itself was healed and returned to its regular smooth skin. "What the hell is this?" Hohenhiem groaned as he examined the bloodied object that he held.

"… Th- That came from… within me?" Roy moaned as a dull throb introduced itself. Hohenhiem nodded. "How did that get inside me and what is it?" Roy slowly began to push himself up but was halted by the Lieutenant.

"Sir please, you need to lie still." Hawkeye said in a stern voice, Mustang looked up at her then sighed and lied back down.

Hohenhiem wiped some of the blood off the object and observed it. "It's a… book…" he flipped through the pages and added, "A child's book by the look of the pictures… but what was it doing in you and who did this?"

Mustang took in a breath. "I don't know but-"

Suddenly a small disk fell from out of the book and onto the floor. Hohenhiem picked it up as Roy hissed one name from his gritted teeth.

"Edward…"

**Sorry the chapter is shorter than my regular ones, and sorry if it may not be as exciting but I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Review Time!**

**Joker Oak:**** He pretty much is :P Here's an update!**

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**Linkforever125:**** Don't die! I don't want to be responsible for murder… at least not yet… I'm just joking xD Thanks but something's telling me you might not like this chapter all too much…**

**A/N: This chapter is made by Ed's POV. This will give you all a pretty good understanding of what goes on in Ed's mind and what he's really dealing with. So just a fair warning. Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy this!**

**Chapter 18/ To Understand the Mind, You Must Surrender Your Body**

_As the sky begins the cloud with the coming of a brilliant storm I walk the streets of Central with a heavy weight I'm forced to carry. Wearing my long black coat to protect myself from the cold elements and long black pants I come to the understanding that a storm is coming. I see them everywhere. The little devils that haunt every corner of my vision. They're everywhere. Hanging on the streetlights, poking at my shoulder, dancing on the sunlight, they're everywhere. I walk with calm ease as ever, it doesn't bother me with these little creatures around me 24/7 but I hate that I'm the only one that has to deal with seeing these demons. They're red and small, like little gremlins, sharp yet short claws hang from their nails and a custom spiky tail and horns are planted on their bodies. They climb, they tease, they do whatever the hell they do and yet no one sees them. I often wonder why I'm the only one that acknowledges their existence but then somewhere within me a voice cries out with the answer: Because they are a part of you. It says. Yes, they are me and I am them. _

"Ah, sir," _An old woman with hat on her head says to me, _"Would you like to buy some flowers?"

**Flowers. Flowers. Flowers.**

_There they go again…_

**Pink. Yellow. So many colors…**

** Many colors…**

** Lights… colors… red…**

_The devils are talking. They're all talking at once, trying to get each of their points across…_

"No thank you, mam'm." _I said in a soft voice. _**Buy… You want… **_If only they wouldn't talk all at once. _

"Oh come now silly boy!" _the woman chuckled. _"You must have someone you would want to give these flowers to."

**Someone…**

** Someone special… your mother**

** Mother, where is she?**

** Give them…**

_I thought this over for a second then smiled sweetly. _"I'll take a bouquet of red roses, please?"

"Good choice, young man!" _The woman chuckled as she began wrapping th_e _red flowers in a nice white wrapping paper. _"Here you go, that'll be 500 cenz." _I handed her the money I kept in my pocket and took the flowers out of her hand. _"Thank you, have a nice day."

"You too, miss." _I say back to her as I walk away. _**Roses… red… **_They've become fascinated by the flowers, how interesting. I walk on as the little red creatures hop on my shoulders and poke at my sides. _**Blood…**

** The color of blood.**

** Blood red… type…?**

** Of what's inside you…**

** Red… red… red… **

_Yes, red… not a dashing color but it does show off in a crowd. Deep red, the color I shall paint this world as…_

**Red…**

** Your brother… **

_My little brother, Alphonse. I wish I could see you again, but under the circumstances I'm afraid our next reunion will be too far away for my paitence to take. Al, I hope you can understand that I'm doing all of this for you… I hope you know that… I hope you know that I hate you with every fiber of my very being. Yet, I love you my dear brother…_

**Love, hate, neutral…**

** Who is to love?**

** Who is to hate?**

_Who am I to have a complete say? I clench the bouquet in my hand and smile. There's still so much to do today but night is beginning to fall. I must make haste… must keep on schedule…_

**Who is to love you?**

** Who are you to love?**

** Love… red… Al… Your brother!**

_I don't think you understand me yet Al. Such a pity. I'm laying out all the clues on the board to have you find me and yet… you're relying solely on Mustang… Truly a pity. After all, you are his knight Alphonse. But… will you be the one to fall first?_

**Who are you to hate?**

** Who are you to love?**

** In this world… Hate… a cycle of hate…**

** A cycle of love… **

** The people in the middle…**

** Who don't deserve to live…**

_What have they done to me? No, I'm getting off track. Not now… no longer shall I dwell on the past I so sorely wish to correct. Now that I think about it… Roy just might be taking this seriously. I feel a chuckle escape me as I sway to one side. So the bastard is playing up against me… it would make since considering that he is the king, but what side is he king of? The black or white? Which side am I king of? Only our moves will tell and who is left standing in the very end…_

**Who are they to live?**

** You are a God.**

** Who are they to hate…**

** You are a dog.**

** They made you a God.**

** They made you a dog.**

_The creatures crawl at my face and whisper in my ear. The voice is tempting… very tempting… like Satan's voice is a drug to me… but I do not follow it. I no longer can follow the voices of others. I have to follow my own voice, and walk down this path that I can no longer go back on. Out of the corner of my eye I spot Central HQ, a grin tugs at my lips as I slowly unclench the roses in my hand. That feeling of consuming darkness takes over me again and before I knew it I blacked out and succumbed to the blackness as the little devils say one question in dark unity._

**Who do you want to kill…?**

_ And a demented sneer grows on my face as I fall into darkness._

…

_ I come back from the dark corners of my soul and find myself sitting on a bench at Central Train Station. I smile to myself and stand up, I no longer have the roses I bought nor do I know what I did with them. It's strange that I cannot recollect what I have done when I black out but I don't worry about that so much. I walk over to the counter where I can buy a train ticket and smile. _"Good evening." _I say to the woman who is behind the glass window._

"Good evening, sir." _The woman says with a soft smile. How cute… _"May I help you?"

"Yes…" _I hiss through the smirk that tugs at my lips as I see that night has fallen. Right on schedule, _"Two tickets to East City please… and one ticket for Lior, for tomorrow morning's departure." _Alphonse, Mustang… we're all playing this single game and only one of us will live through long enough to see the ending but… what sacrifices are the both of you willing to make to put an end to my plans?_

"Yes sir."

…

"Sir, someone left this at your doorstep." Hawkeye said. She held a bouquet of red roses in her hand as she handed them to the slightly wounded Mustang.

Roy took them and asked, "Who are they from?" Riza shrugged.

"There was no note stating who left them for you ."

"Well then," Roy sighed as he sniffed the roses and exclaimed, "they smell pretty nice actually." He dropped the roses to his side and asked Al, "Are you ready?" Al hesitated for a second then slowly nodded. "Then lets watch the disk…" Roy said in monotone voice as he looked out the window and spotted the storm clouds.

**Cliffy! Sorry I didn't mean to make a cliffhanger but I'm incredibly filled with homework, projects, and studies… so… like ya… I had to make it short. Sorry! I promise you all a nice long chapter next time! **

** I hope you all like this chapter and if any of you have any questions or if you're confused at all with this chapter or previous ones, just ask me in your reviews or send me a PM. Or whatever its called xD **

** Thank you!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 19/ The Lullaby to Remember**

_ The air was cold. His feelings were cold. Everything was cold. _

_ Nothing could be felt outside the contents of his seared skin. The "medicine" the scientists dunked him in had an extra, unfortunate side effect. After an hour of rest after the dunking his skin was burning. It was on fire. Every pore was a pit of lava waiting to erupt, with every attempt he made to move the intense waves of pain and shut him down. He lay in his cold cell, alone and rambling in his mind. Nothing was clear anymore. It was all so messed up and confusing. His golden eyes were staring wide and straight into white nothingness, they remained blink less and unsteady. _

_ His exposed body did everything it could to try not to shiver so much but all efforts were pointless. The shivering plagued his body as the crawling fire in his skin burnt away all trains of thoughts. Everything was vanishing… just vanishing…_

_ Purpose..._

_ Reason…_

_ State of being…_

_ Logic…_

_ It was all vanishing…_

_ Memories…_

_ Humanity…_

_ Soul…_

_ All… just… _gone

_"Kid, what's your name?" The voice a young man followed in his ears. It was loud. Unfocused. Blurry. "Kid, I'm asking you what your name is." Frustration. Annoyance. Profound patience. Edward lifted his head up slowly and gazed at the first who sat at the other end of the wall, a boy with dark purple hair. The golden gaze looked on and on, never blinking, never taking an inch off the stranger who was suddenly in his domain._

_ "What is your name?" The same question asked again but it was hard to process the meaning. Name… what is a name? Does he have what this "name" is?_

_ "N-Na-na-me-?" Edward croaked his voice barely above a whisper. His throat was unbearably dry from the lack of fluids, specifically water instead of that "medicine", and his once pure golden bangs hung lifeless covering up most of his face. He looked like death reincarnated._

_ The purple-haired boy's expression changed. Confusion? Understanding? "A name, you know, what do people call you?"_

_ Call him? His title? There were too many of these "names" floating in his head, but he needed to pick one… just one. He finally grasped hold of a thought and read it; F-F-Fu-Fullm-Fullmet-al-? Fullmetal? Was that his "name"? "M-My na-me…?"_

_ "…" The boy narrowed his eyes to slits, what was this emotion this time? "I don't think you're understanding me, kid. Look, a name is what people call you and what you respond to. Like how my name is Zero, that's the name I respond to when people call me." Silence. "Okay, what do the scientists call you?"_

_ Two titles popped in his head. The name with an "E" and the name with an "M", which one was his? "…" Edward lowered his head again; the room was beginning to spin around him. Pressure built up in his head and the pounding throb he had no choice but to endure came back to life. Edward moaned and clutched his head, causing Zero to change his expression once again, what was it? The emotion. The name. The title… what was it…_

_ Ed…_

_ Mo…_

_ Ed…_

_ Edw-_

_ "M-My name is…" Edward struggled to say through his throbbing migraine and gritted teeth, "I-Is… it-it's-"_

_ Edwa-_

_ Monst-_

_ Edwar-_

_ Monste-_

_ "It-s Edwar-" The blond stopped short as the pain became too much. As if a piano had fallen on him, every pore, every fiber of his being cried out in explicable agony. He jerked his head and unleashed the scream that was plaguing his broken mind, golden eyes snapped open wider than they ever had before and his nail dug deep into his scalp, making the smell and feeling of warm blood flow down his pale skin. This time the purple-haired boy didn't just stayed seated he got up and ran over to the blond, completely ignoring the previous orders the scientists had given him to stay a safe distance from the boy. _

_ The blond began to thrash under the restraints of the other boy and his scream turned deafening unbearable. His vision blurred to white noise and colorful flashing dots slapped him blind, his head continued to throb to the influence of knowing his name. What was it? _What the hell was his name?

__**"What you don't know won't hurt you."**

** "Brother, how are you?"**

** "I have an assignment for you, Fullmetal."**

** "It's nice to see you again, Edward."**

** "Ed! Did you break your automail again?"**

** "Got you this time, pipsqueak!"**

** "Fantastic work, Edward Elric!"**

** "Come now, experiment 0"**

** "Your name… your name is…"**

** "Idiot student!"**

** "You are Fullmetal! The Fullmetal Alchemist!"**

** "Your name is…"**

** "My name is…"**

_**"Our name is…"**_

___All at once, the blond stopped. His movements stopped. His screams stopped. His headache stopped. Everything just stopped. Zero sighed with relief and released his grip on the blond; he waited for a bit as the blond's head fell and his hair covered his face. He waited a bit more than asked, "Hey, kid, are you okay?" The blond didn't respond. "Hey, I'm serious, are you okay?" Zero reached out to grab his shoulder but his hand froze when a chuckle sounded between them. The blond boy's body shivered and trembled between the pain of the searing and the immediate laugh that escaped his throat, his head remained lowered as words flew from his lips._

_ "Edward, Edward Elric." _

_ "…" Zero retracted his hand and smiled lightly, "Ah, so that is your name, I like it."_

_ "No." The blond solemnly said. His voice a monotone._

_ "No?" Zero asked, not understanding anymore._

_ "No." The blond said with his head still down._

_ "What do you mean by no?" Zero asked._

_ "Not my name." The blond answered. "His name. It's his name."_

_ "… Um… I don't quite…"_

_ "Not my name, its his name. His. Only his." A devilish smirk grew on the blond's face as he lifted his head and revealed himself once more. Golden eyes were wide with the sparkling of obvious insanity in them and the smirk on his face gave him the impression of a mad demon. "My name is Monster. That is what people call me. I am not Edward that is his name. The weaker part's half is Edward Elric. Not mine."_

_ The voice seemed to come out in a snarl. Zero immediately dropped his smile and said, "Your name is Monster… okay then, but that can't be possible… Whose name is Edward?"_

_ "His."_

_ "And who is he?"_

_ "Him."_

_ "…" Zero sighed, "Okay, this isn't getting me any where…"_

_ "Him, he is here." Monster said pointing to himself, "He is here, inside of me. Sleeping soundly. Staying away from the pain."_

_ "…" Zero breathed in. _

"_You. We want everyone gone."_

"…" _Muscles began to tense._

"_Everyone must go for them to stop."_

"…" _Zero readied himself._

"_For the sake of our wish, everyone must be gone."_

"_..." _

"_STARTING WITH YOU!" Monster yelled as he pounced on Zero and hurdled him to the floor. "THE VOICES MUST STOP!" He cried out continuously. The two boys punched, kicked, and snarled at each other, Zero's claws extended and slashed at the blond with animal furiousity. Blood splattered everywhere as Edward pounded his fist into the boy, not holding back any of his strength while screaming, "MUST STOP! MUST STOP! MUST STOP!" He didn't pay attention to the gashes and wounds he had on neither his face nor his body, his only focus was the boy and how needed to disappear._

_Everything needed to vanish…_

_Just vanish…_

_Suddenly a sharp pain erupted in his neck and the floor made contact with his face. His body went cold and numb as the blurred figures of guards entered his vision. The needle that was sticking out from the side of his neck dangled as hisses and snarls escaped Ed's mouth. Zero watched with breathtaking interest as Ed lifted his head slightly, bared his teeth and snarled in a feral-like way. "I'll make everyone vanish just like all of you did to me. Everything will disappear…" _

_ And all fell silent. _

_ Zero breathed heavily as a man walked in and picked up Ed's limp body. "This exercise was a failure, the subject has only gained a higher percent in multiple personalities," he growled, "nothing has changed in the subject so proceed onto the next step."_

_ "Sir," a man quivered, "you can't mean-"_

"_I do, proceed to phase four, we must test how stable the subject's mental balance is." Looking down at the blond the scientist sighed, "And so far, things aren't looking all too grim… we need to have the experiment ready before the Grand Event."_

_ "Sir, with all do respect I refuse to be apart of this next step." The scrawny scientist said boldly, "We're putting a woman's life on the line here, that's going beyond anything-"_

_ "Did I ask for your opinion, Dr. Ronald?" The man said coldly._

_ "No you didn't, Professor Eisenhower, but this is getting too dangerous." Dr. Ronald sighed and continued, "I know that there's little time left for the Grand Event but think about what we're doing!"_

"…" Havoc leaned in closer to the screen and asked, "Um, what happened?"

"… I suppose that was all there was to the video." Hawkeye answered.

"That wasn't enough footage but it gave us a little bit more information than we would've expected." Roy said straightening himself up on the couch, "Although the question remains, where did the Grand Event occur… at least where did that one occur…"

___"No! Don't put me in there!" _

Everyone flinched. What the hell was that?

_"Please, stop! Don't do it!"_

Everyone's eyes turned back to the black screen, it was a voice. A female voice…

_"No!"_

She was screaming with the sound of resist. Suddenly the screen turned back on and changed to a pure white color.

_"No! Don't! Let me out! HELP! Someone! Anyone!"_

The screen changed again and revealed two figures. A young woman and a small blond kid. Both of them were in a small, padded room and the view from where they could be seen was coming from the corner of a padded wall.

_"Someone! Please! Let me out!" The woman screamed, pounding on the walls like crazy. "SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP!"_

_ "…shut up…" The blond kid said quietly. The woman turned to the child with teary eyes and shivered. _

_ "What did you say?" She cautiously asked. _

_ "…" He didn't respond. The boy sat down against the wall, his knees buckled close to chest and his face was hidden by dirty, pale blond hair. _

_ "What did you say!"_

_ "… shut up… too loud…" The blond hissed, tightening the grip around his knees. "too loud… too bright…"_

_ "Do you know where we are?" The woman asked frantically._

_ "…"_

_ "… how did you get here?"_

_ "… shut up…" The boy growled while clenching his hand to his ears. "…no questions… no more questions…"_

_ "… Are you okay?" The woman persisted on, lowering down to his level._

_ "… no… no more… please… no more…" The blond mumbled. "… no… more…" his head slowly lifted to reveal his red streaked face. "no more… no more…" he cried out as rivers of tears came flowing down his face. "no more… no more…" _

___The woman's frown deepened. She slowly approached the crying boy and calmly said, "Don't cry, everything's alright…" Her arms cautiously wrapped around the blond's shivering form as the tears racked his body, while embracing the young man she rocked them both back and forth. "Don't worry it's all right…"  
>she continued to say. The young man continued to tremble and utter the words, "… no more… no more…"<em>

_ The woman briefly sighed and breathed in a breath._

_**Sleep my child**_

_**Sweet little sleep, and comfort**_

_**The warmth of your comfortable bed.**_

_**I watch you, always you,**_

_**Worn on your breast, yet alone, gently.**_

_**I have always been worn by you here.**_

_**Carried away in your sleep**_

_**Filled [these flowers], my children sleep**_

_**My sweet children sleep**_

_Ed slowly stopped crying yet his body still trembled with the release of his mixed and tangled emotion. The woman felt his struggle and continued to sing:_

_**Gently children**_

_**Without their father yet gently, children,**_

_**Your mother looked at you.**_

_**I watch you, always you,**_

_**Focused on your breast, without feeling children,**_

_**Sleep time**_

_**In the room without your mother.**_

_**In the room until the day seem …**_

___All at once Ed's body stopped shaking and the sobs stopped flowing. "…" _

_ "Are you okay now?" The woman asked not letting go of the fragile young man. _

_ "… Do you have children?" Ed asked sounding a bit distant and clear._

_ The woman smiled softly and answered, "Yes, a daughter and son, I sing this to them every night. It's a lullaby that they both love so much."_

_ "Did you make it up?"_

_ She nodded, laying her head softly on Ed's shoulder before flinching when his cold voice shook her to fear. "You lie." He said with anger beginning to boil._

_ "Excuse me?" The woman said with worried feelings._

_ "That lullaby isn't yours… you don't get to sing it… its not yours…" He said. _

_ "Then whose is it?" The woman asked._

_ "…" Edward slowly loosened his grip on the woman and then looked at her in anger. His eyes were narrowed to golden slits as his hands slowly rose and two words escaped him:_

"Our mother's" Al said in a terrified tone of voice that earned the attention of everyone in the room.

"Trisha…" Hohenhiem trembled along with his son.

"_My mother's."_

**Yaaa it's not as exciting as the other chapters before, so sorry! If anyone has any questions or is confused with anything, just ask and I'll answer!**

**Okay, a few things to say: I'm going to do the reviews next chapter. And the song that was present this time is called Trisha's Lullaby, I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! NOT THE SONG NOR FMA!**

**I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Please Review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 20/ The Animal Within**

_With lightening speed, Ed pushed on the woman on the ground and wrapped his hands around her neck. The woman began to struggle and thrash about but no matter how hard she kicked and moved, Ed would not let her go. His feeble, weak body was so extraordinary strong, but for just that moment. The sudden hate for this woman coursed through his veins and filled his frail form with liquid strength – yes, he hated this woman. He didn't know her but he hated her. Hated her for singing his mother's song. __**His **__mother's song and taking credit for it. She had no right. The bitch had no right to do that. She had to pay. Had to pay the price for it… _

_Edward began squeezing down on her throat sending her to make coughs and lose feeling in her body. She stopped her futile attempts to break free and just stared wide-eyed and terrified at young man – no, not man. Monster. She stared deep into the monster's angry golden eyes and gasped, she could feel the life being sucked out of her. It was all ending._

_Ed didn't ease up. He continued to tighten his grip until the bitch fell limb. He wanted her dead. He wanted her gone. For taking such a precious item from his mother she must pay with her life, that's how equivalent exchange works. Isn't it? Somewhere inside the blond something was screaming… screaming out for him to stop such madness… it was so distant yet so clear. What is it? What was it trying to tell him? _

"… Do you have children?" Ed asked sounding a bit distant and clear.

The woman smiled softly and answered, "Yes, a daughter and son, I sing this to them every night. It's a lullaby that they both love so much."

_Hardly knowing that he had loosened his grip on the woman, Ed felt actual remorse but that's when he knew what was calling from within. Yes, his voice of reason. His guilt. His wisdom. His humanity. He looked into the woman's eyes and saw a glimmer of hope… of compassion? This woman had children, a daughter __**and **__son waiting for her. Probably scared that their mom was missing, probably alone… like him and… him and… him and who? He has a brother, what was his name? His name, what was it? His brother's name what was it? __**What the hell was his goddamn name! **_

___Ed shivered and twitched. He couldn't remember… he couldn't remember his own brother's name… no… NO! He HAD to remember! He just had too! It wasn't fair! Edward never wanted this! He never wanted to be kidnapped, experimented on, and pain stricken every goddamn second of the day! He especially didn't want to forget _his_ name! His little brother's name! It just wasn't fair! _

_ Then that's when it returned._

_ The anger and hatred Ed had once felt returned to him at full force. He felt cold for a second then completely numb, as if all his emotions left him he felt empty. Vague and forgotten, then there was anger… it truly was an ugly thing. Golden eyes narrowed even further as his hands clenched down on the woman's neck, all the hope that had once shown in her eyes turned back into terror. He really was going to kill her. Ed squeezed again and smirked viciously, he was already aware that he wasn't himself. He knew he wasn't himself. His own anger and hatred had transformed him into a wild animal bent on killing its prey; his golden eyes were no longer recognizable as a human's but a beast. The woman gasped out her last breath and all together stopped moving, Ed watched intently as the life faded from her eyes and he loved it. To see such a sight made him shiver, he had completely forgot about time and his gaping memories and focused eternally on the fading colors letting that quench his anger. The eyes slowly dilated and life was completely gone from her body, the blond slowly stood up with the smirk still on his face and stared down at the body._

_ His head jerked back and unleashed a full on mad laugh. He laughed and laughed and laughed, not actually getting what was so funny. "Serves you right, you damn bitch!" he cried out through the laughter, "You got exactly what you deserved!" He looked back down at the lifeless body and something flickered inside him. A feeling Ed never thought he feel coursed through him and sent his laughter to a small snicker. Like being hit by a truck, Ed felt what, as a human, he should feel. Guilt. Undeniable, heart-tearing guilt. It ripped him apart. The recognition of now opening his eyes to what he has done sent him spiraling back to his human emotions. His snicker slowly began to turn into a low noise and the smile on his face changed into a frown, soon he was back to sobbing. He broke down in tears, no longer the monstrous animal he once was but the weak human that he is and always will be._

_ He fell to his knees and cried. He didn't mean to do this. He didn't want to. He just didn't understand why he did… why… what was his reason… no, none of this was making any sense anymore. None of it was! What was happening to him! _

_ But then again, a human life was just a simple thing. Easily replaceable and so easy to forget. No one would care if someone died, so why should he? Ed stopped crying and looked back down at the woman with interest. That's right, it was no big deal. Either way it went, this was equivalent exchange. It wasn't set in stone but when was anything? _

_ Then that's when he saw it, something flickered on the side of her. In her pocket. Ed outstretched his hand, took hold of the item and froze. He felt sick to his stomach immediately, just one glance and he felt miserable. He quickly hunched over and released whatever bile was still in him; he gagged as more tears shed down his face. Dropping the picture, Ed held his bare stomach fell over to his side. He sobs racked his body as he shivered uncontrollably and cried himself into sweet unconscious oblivion._

_ The item that was from the woman was nothing more than a picture of her and her children. _

_ ….. /…._

"…" Everyone was speechless. They all shared the same expression, shock, anxiety, and horror. It was all written on their faces. "… Well, let's get back to work." The husky voice of Mustang groaned as he stood up from his seat.

"Work, sir?" a still astonished Havoc asked.

"Yes, work." Mustang answered, his eyes narrowing. "What we need to figure out is the Grand Event and the location of Full- Edward." He quickly stopped himself from saying Fullmetal. Ed was no longer a state alchemist as far as he was concerned, as of now Edward was a criminal. A mad criminal at that.

"This video just showed how demented Edward just might be." He slowly said, cautious of what he was saying. Taking a glance at Al, Roy grimaced. The brunette had barely moved since the scene had ended, let alone was feeling anything but the obvious sadness that rolled off of him. Mustang forced himself to cough and continued, "Our job is to put an end to this madness so everyone continue with your work." Even he could tell the tone in his voice wasn't convincing.

A short moment of silence followed after his order. "…" Nobody moved for a bit then finally his subordinates answered, "Yes sir."

He nodded solemnly, the atmosphere around them felt so heavy all of a sudden. Everyone went back to his or her stations, Hawkeye on the other hand tried to soothe the nearly broken Al. Mustang huffed and walked over to the elder blond.

"Hohenhiem, we need to talk."

"About?" Hohenhiem asked, still in a somewhat daze.

"About the Grand Event you know of. The one that happened several years ago." Mustang replied.

Hohenhiem remained still for a bit then answered, "Colonel Mustang, I already told you I know nothing of-"

"Don't give me that shit." Mustang snapped, past the point of frustration. "This is no longer a time to be hiding things from me. I need to know every single detail of what you know and in case you haven't noticed, Hohenhiem, we're not the ones who think this is a game." Roy walked up closer to the blond and snarled, "Your _son _is the one who thinks this is all a game, and judging on how he just took out a hospital and killed over 1,000 people, then he wont be afraid to do it again. And right now, Hohenhiem, _I am way past the point of having the right to know what I need to know._"

The elder blond glared at the raven-haired man for a second then sighed. It really was time to tell him… the terrible mistake that he made. "… Is there anywhere we can talk in private?"

Roy nodded. "Follow me." And so they left the Colonel's office leaving everyone to continue their work. Riza was still trying to calm Al's shaking form when she caught a glimpse of that bloody book that Edward had… put into the Colonel. With disgust clear on her face she reached for the book and coughed. It was a bit sticky but it seemed that the pages themselves were not harmed; she examined the book for a bit then looked back at the title.

_**The Forgotten Monster**_

__…

In Central Train Station, everyone was already bustling to get to his or her correct trains. Three heavily clothed figures stood aside, watching as the crowds grew and grew.

"It's time to leave." The purple-haired figure croaked. He took one step forward and stared at his two companions. "Goodbye and good luck."

"You two," the black-haired girl smiled, "may luck be on your side." The purple-haired young man extended his hand and she grasped it. They shook quickly then turned to the blond figure beside them.

"Good luck, _Edward_." The purple-haired young man sneered.

"You too, _Zero._" With one more glance the three went their separate ways and onto the trains. Zero glanced over his shoulder and got on the train to Lior, it was going to be a very, _very _long trip. He saw Edward and Phoenix hop onto the train heading to East City; they didn't look back at him.

**Review Time!**

**Zeldawolf2000:**** It was scary? AWESOME! Thank you! :D**

**Alice Nyte: ****No need to wait anymore! :3 Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Shadow Heart Hawk-eye:**** Thanks, glad you love it. And it was that creepy? SWEET! xD**

**Mysterious blue jay:**** Why yes, yes he is. Roy that is, he may not seem it but him, Al, and Ed are all on equal standards… not literally but well, you know xD ****and ya, I guess writing about dark things is my specialty. And thanks for saying that this story deserves more reviews, I'm not ungrateful for the reviews I have now or anything! But my goal really is to reach 100 reviews… anyways, thank you!**

**A/N:**** I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter! And I have a small request for all of you; can everyone please review a bit more? I like to hear what all of your opinions are on the story and some constructive critism isn't going to hurt to tell me what my mistakes are. Flames… I can deal with that, don't like them but can deal with them. So everyone, thank you for reading and don't forget,**

**Stay awesome!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 21: To Preserve the Lie**

"Start from the very beginning, Hohenhiem, and leave nothing out." Roy said lowly and patiently. He leaned up against the wall next to him and narrowed his eyes at the older blond, his full attention focused on what Hohenhiem needed to say.

The only place that seemed isolated enough for the two men to talk in private was a stray closet, of course it wasn't the best place but it was convinent. Now, it was the moment of truth. It was finally time to find out what happened all those years ago… to solve the mystery of what the Grand Event really was…

"Colonel Mustang, I'm ready to tell you everything that I know and can remember," said the older blond, "but are you sure you wish to know this?" Roy nodded and just glared at him, clearly the soldier was prepared for what he was about to hear. "Alright then, I'll start with telling you the specifics of the Grand Event."

"As you very well know, it was planned in Lior a couple of years back and was more of a celebration then a top secret meeting." Hohenhiem explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "The main people who came were higher up military officers, noblemen and women, scientists, psychologists, you name it, of course they came to either provide funding or to see for themselves the fruits of our labor. And that's why I should tell you the main reason of the Grand Event, why a ton of upper class people would come to Lior just for a celebration."

"The main reason of the Grand Event was to have a look at the first successful subject of Project Phoenix. I was there to escort the subject and if my memory serves, I'm sure the subject was a girl… her name however was unknown."

"Unknown?" Roy asked, an eyebrow cocked.

"Yes. The subjects were not introduced to names, therefore, the girl had no name from her birth to that time." Hohehiem continued, "The event was going smoothly, everyone was impressed by the girl's intellectual skills and stability at least, until an unexpected… accident occurred." Roy leaned in, paying even more attention to the use-to-be scientist. "I should've seen it coming. I could've stopped what had happened but… I…"

"Don't give up on me just yet, Hohenhiem." Roy said softly yet sternly, noticing the blond's sudden hesitation. "I – no, _we _both need this information and you continuing on with your side of what happened is helping significantly."

Hohenhiem took in a breath of air and nodded, the spark returning in his golden eyes. "The girl, she was shivering so violently and I just thought that she was cold but then… then she whispered to me, saying that it was hurting. In my ignorance, I ignored her and continued on introducing her to the guests, but then… that's when I knew something was wrong. She suddenly collapsed on the floor and started to scream, crying out that she was hurting. I just stared down at her, not bothering to go by her side or anything because I knew… I knew that…" He paused for a brief second and breathed once again. "_I knew that I had failed in my work._"

That's what began to confuse the Colonel. "Failed? How do you mean?"

"The subject was not meant to show weakness or pain to that kind of level. She was not to show any human emotions of any kind or even feel any empathy for her own pain, but let me continue on."

"The girl soon went limb after her body began convulsing for a bit. I examined her, although I knew right away that the cause of her death was cyanide poison," Hohenhiem paused again and closed his eyes, as if going into a deep thought, "Someone had poisoned her, with not only the intention of killing her but also with exposing the failure of Project Phoenix, and so he or she did_. The girl showed emotion and that was our downfall_." Golden eyes opened mournfully as memories flooded from his suppressed subconscious and broke through his mask, exposing true feelings of what happened that day. "Funding was cut off and no one wanted to be any more involved in our experiment then they already were. So, connections were cut, alliances were diminished and there wasn't to be another Grand Event ever again."

"Of course, with the little money I had left I destroyed every aspect and evidence of Project Phoenix. I left no traces for the sole reason of allowing no one to copy our – _my _heinous work." Taking in a breath, Hohenhiem looked directly into Roy's dark eyes and said, "That's the truth about the Grand Event all those years ago, not a single detail was left out, _I've told you everything._"

Then silence. Pure adolescent mocking silence. The two men gazed into each other's eyes and allowed the confession to sink into the new nostalgic air. Neither of them moved, it was too soon for that. Too soon to talk about anything else while they allowed the horrous truth to etch back into their minds, but not Mustang. He had neither the time nor patience to stop and think about the anger that was boiling inside of him after hearing Hohenhiem's confession, but if nothing else, that's what moved him from his immobile state. Taking one step towards the older blond, Roy raised his clenched fist and rocketed it towards Hohenhiem, catching him by surprise and managing to slam the blond onto the hard floor.

Hohenhiem coughed and sputtered, taken aback by Roy's sudden punch. His hand went to his red cheek and he looked up at the furious military officer. Dark slitted orbs looked down at the alchemist as Roy's voice came flowing out, "How could you do something so stupid!" He began, "Because of your mistakes your own son is out there doing god knows what!"

"And you think I'm not upset about this!" Hohenhiem retorted, "I know what I did and I'll do everything I can to atone for what I've done!"

"Atone?" Roy scoffed, "Is that what you're worried about? You put innocent lives on the line, took children away from their families and you're worried about atonement?"

"No! God no…" Hohenhiem mumbled, his words escaping him, "I want to do everything I can to help him… help my son."

Roy fell silent for a second then took one step towards the anguished alchemist. "That's what I wanted to hear." He said softly, "But you have a son in my office who needs you right now. If you want to help him – _both of them, _then supply us with any knowledge you can remember."

"Otherwise if you cant, then get the hell out of my sight."

…

"Fletcher! I'm home!" Russell shouted as he closed the door to his home and entered into the living room.

"Ah, Brother! You won't believe who's here!" Fletcher shouted in joy as he pointed to the two figures on the couch.

"Hello, Russell, its been a while." The voice of the blond teen said. Sitting next to the blond was a black-haired young lady who was smiling. "How have you been?"

"Edward, this is a surprise." Russell shakily smiled, "I didn't expect for you to come and visit."

Edward smiled sweetly at the older blond and said, "Neither did we."

**Author's note****: Oh my gosh… I'm so sorry it took forever to update… my mom literally took my laptop, threw it at the door then on the ground and broke it. I lost all of my stories and saved chapters so I had to start over again… but I'm back! A little crushed… but back! Lol, New Millennium is dragging me down… this story is beginning to feel useless to me…**

**Well, thank you all for reading and reviewing! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! **

**Review Time!**

**Alice Nyte:**** Lolo dude, thanks :)**

**Joker Oak:**** Don't worry, Big Daddy Hohenhiem is going to spill the beans xD**

**Phoeni:**** Dude what a coincidence :D **

**AlchemyFreak0218:**** Thanks :D you're really into this story, aren't you?**

**Wolpy6:**** No I haven't, who's its by? I'm always interested in music so… yea :D Thanks for reviewing!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 22: Lost Children**

"Edward, I still don't understand why you came all the way here just to see us." Russell sighed with a weary smile. After a minute or two, he had made tea for him and Ed while Fletcher went off to play with Ed's new friend – Phoenix, that was her name.

Edward sipped on his tea and smiled warmly at Russell. "Well I was in the neighborhood and decided to come by. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing! It was all just so sudden… speaking of which, where's Al? He's usually always with you."

Ed paused for a second then answered, "Oh. He's studying with our father."

"…" Russell's eyes widened and he nearly dropped his teacup. That wasn't right… did he hear Edward correctly? "Um, you mean Hohenhiem of Light? I thought he went missing?"

"Nah, he was just having one of his mid life crisis and decided to come back to us." Ed chuckled. "Strange for our dad to just show up like that but you know…" He held up his cup and drank the rest of the tea. "He's always on the road."

"So you just let Al go with him?"

"Well why wouldn't I? Al's not a child anymore, he doesn't need me as much."

"Still, Ed…"

"Really, Russell, just end it." Ed said coldly while staring blankly at the older Trigram.

"… Mm, all right then. So, how's everything been going for the both of you?" Russell asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Pretty good actually." Ed replied with a smile, "What about you?"

"Everything's gone well so far but… I'm thinking about moving back to Central." Russell said with a woeful smile. "East City is great and all but Central seems like a better place at the moment."

An eerie silence followed afterwards but was broken when Ed spoke up. "Oh? Why?"

"… Well, you see, this place holds to many memories and not the good kinds… besides I'm hoping Fletcher can have a better life there. He just doesn't seem to be enjoying it here as much as he did before…"

Catching the older brother's sad look, Ed leaned in closely to Russell and whispered softly in his ear. "Relax. I can see what you mean. This place reeks of bad memories and East City… tch! You'd be doing yourself and Fletcher a favor if you'd move."

Startled by how close Ed came to him, Russell cringed and looked nervously at the older Elric, still feeling strange warmth cast off from him. "Well, um, Ed, I – um…" Russell then quickly stood up and took both his teacup and Ed's. "I'm going to put these away now!" He ran into the kitchen and left Ed alone in the living room.

Sighing, Ed looked around casually and took in the features all around him. Nothing was out of the ordinary, everything was pretty plain. A typical vase or two, scarlet wallpaper, a couple of pictures and art pieces – there was really nothing special about the home and that began to irk Ed.

It was all just so stubbornly boring. Ordinarily. Repeating. So, so terribly _dull_.

"Hey, Ed!" The older Elric snapped out of his mad gaze. "You never told me about that girl that was with you." Russell walked out of the kitchen and stared curiously at Ed. "So, who is she?"

Ed didn't answer right away. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly, "Phoenix? Oh, she's just my partner. More of an apprentice really, I met her while I was traveling to Briggs… she was all alone in the snow and didn't know who she was…" The blonde trailed off his speech and lowered his forehead into his hands.

"Ed?" Russell approached the young man cautiously. "Are you okay?"

For a second he didn't answer, then his head slowly lifted from his head and a warm smile met the older Trigham. Ed nodded and answered, "I'm fine. Just a little travel weary… hey, do you have a lab or a study room here?"

Russell nodded.

"Good. I wanna show you something." The Elric stood up and raised his arm. "Care to show me the way?"

"Oh. Of course." Russell said, "Are you sure your partner – Phoenix was her name, right?" Ed nodded. "Are you sure she doesn't mind babysitting Fletcher for a while?"

Ed scoffed, "Don't call it babysitting, why don't you say 'playing' or 'hanging out'?"

Russell sighed and turned back to Ed. "Hey, keep in mind that this is still _my _household."

"Oh I know!" Ed corrected himself then laughed.

"…" Russell stared at the laughing young man then breathed. "Follow me." He said as he led Edward down to his lab.

…

"Higher! Higher!" Cried Fletcher as he hair blew wildly around in every direction.

"Alright! Alright!" Hollered Phoenix as she pushed Fletcher even harder. She smiled as he laughed and went higher on his swing, she pushed one last time then snickered joyfully when the young boy jumped from his swing and landed unsteadily on his feet.

"Ta-Dah!" He laughed, raising his arms like an Olympic gold medalist. Phoenix clapped in admiration and walked over to Fletcher.

"Good job!" She said, "How about we get some ice cream as an award?" Fletcher nodded childishly and ran around in circles around her. Phoenix had heard that Fletcher was never this hyper, but apparently she brought out the child inside him. Laughing, Phoenix walked up to a nearby ice cream and requested two chocolate cones.

It really was a good to take him to the park, the kid looked like he needed to get out more. Phoenix handed him the ice cream and they both sat down on a park bench, licking their ice cream with satisfaction.

"So, how is it?" She asked.

"Amazing!" He replied with a dirty smile. Phoenix got a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped Fletcher's mouth. "Oh. I'm sorry…" Fletcher blushed with embarrassment. "I'm usually never this-"

"It's alright." Phoenix said to him, "Boys will be boys, especially at your age."

"…" Fletcher sheepishly smiled at her then went back to licking his ice cream. Phoenix inhaled then looked back at the young blond to find him staring blankly at the kids in the park. "…" His ice cream was down and his eyes displayed a type of sadness that Phoenix couldn't place.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked suddenly.

Fletcher flinched and snapped out of his daze. "No! I mean yes but…" He sighed and looked back at the playful children. "Can we keep this between you and me?"

"Sure. Anything you say I wont tell a soul." She grinned warmly.

"… I'm jealous of them." He said pointing to the children playing hide and seek.

"Jealous of them? Why?"

"…" Taking in a massive breath of air as if to find his courage, Fletcher continued, "I don't mean to sound selfish or anything but my brother, Russell, hardly ever plays with me. I mean, I know he has work and studies to do but I wish… I wish sometimes he would at least play catch with me…"

"…" Phoenix looked on at the trembling child. So that's why he was so enthusiastic today. "Do you have any friends?"

Fletcher shook his head and smiled bitterly. "I'm a bit different from other kids at my school."

"Ah…" Phoenix said, understanding what he means.

"… Thank you, Miss Phoenix." Fletcher said, grinning sweetly up at her.

"Oh? For what?" Phoenix asked.

"…" Surprisingly, Fletcher quickly wrapped his arms around her and answered. "For being my friend for the day."

Phoenix flinched and slowly hugged him back. He really was just a child at heart, no matter how smart he was, he is a child – and every child needs a friend.

"How about I be your friend for life?" She asked.

Fletcher pulled away from her and looked astonished. "For life?" Phoenix nodded. "But wont that be to much trouble for you?"

"Not at all!" Phoenix laughed while rubbing the back of her neck. "Besides a friend sticks by your side through thick and thinner. No matter what I'm your friend for life." She held out her hand and extended her pinky.

"It's a promise." She grinned.

"…" Fletcher stood stunned for a second then his smile broaden as he took hold of Phoenix's hand with his own. "Promise!" He replied.

They both laughed for a while then watched as the sky filled with red and orange colors. "We should probably get back home." Phoenix said, "Your brother's probably worried about you."

**I guess I switched around the pattern of the story with this chapter… hm, strange 0.0 anyways, it's nice to get a break from all the gore, horror, and mystery. This was a happy go lucky chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it!**

**Bah! I still hate myself for not updating in a while. Well school will be out in about two more weeks for me so everyone just bare with my lateness and what not xD Anyways, I'll do the reviews next chapter. Thank you for reading!**

**Remember to always close the toilet after using it! Or your cat will jump in for a swim… mine did and she got stuck xD She's alright though**


	24. Chapter 24

**I'm baaaaaaack... and cannot apologize enough for leaving this story in the cold... you all waited patiently so here it is. The newest chapter!**

**Review Time!**

**Joker Oak: So very true to your first review :) very poetic as well. To your second review, the guy is in jail hopefully getting raped and having to face the pain he dealt out to others. I love your quote by the way, I never watched Card Captor Sakura, but your words made me feel really good and I thank you for that.**

**Alice Nyte: Who could ever kill someone as sweet and cute as Fletcher? I could totally see him as a brony though XD**

**AlchemyFreak0218: Well I didn't give up but I did put the story off for an unforgivable amount of time :( sorry about that. To be honest, the first story that I read by you was My Perfect Murder Children :D I was hooked onto that one big time!**

**Wolpy: Your senses are correct :D thank you so much for your kind words :) really, thanAnd and stay awesome dude!**

**KirbyRevolution105: Devious you say? XD Let's see what I can manage...**

**Mixed Kit10: Who doesn't find insane!Ed interesting xD I find him to be psychotically hot.**

**CC-R2000: Thank you so much :D**

**Hanah: I'm fine, thanks for your concern :) and... I didn't come back soon but I came back... so that's a start. **

**Kor0roxGuardian: Roy said that because in his mind, Ed is a criminal. Thanks dude :3**

**Shadow Heart Hawk-eye: This happened last year but I still want to keep the notes up for people to know that they should care for someone even just a little... although I did take it off my story Nightmare Before the Night. **

**mylittlehollow: You forgot to add cross-dresser XD reading your second review, I felt so happy. I'm glad that there are people like you (and other readers) that care so much for people you may or may not know. Thank you so much :)**

**AngelaAngel: Sorry I took forever to update :( but I really am glad that you love this story so much \^.^/ may your life be filled with epic amazingness and cupcakes! Lotso cupcakes! **

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 23: Story Time<span>**

When Hohenheim and Roy walked back into the office, they saw Lieutenant Hawkeye carrying the same book that was inside of Mustang. She looked to him and said, "I was about to read this book."

Roy nodded in understanding, "Read on."

Riza nodded and began:

**In a land far away, a boy lived in disgrace and humiliation**

**The boy was shunned by his village and driven out to live in the forest.**

**The boy cried and cried. "Oh why! Oh why! Why must I suffer!" The boy cried to the Midnight Moon.**

**The Midnight Moon looked down at the boy. It didn't care for the boy either…**

**Something had heard the boy's cries and confronted him**

**And thus the boy encountered the Monster.**

**The Monster stared at the boy, stared at him with interest**

**"Was it it you want? Was is it you want best?"**

**The boy smiled and pointed to his heart**

**"I want friends! Someone to share my pain at my part."**

**The Monster granted his wish and gave him two ears**

**"Two friends for them to hear! Two friends for you to hold dear."**

**The boy smiled. Hearing his friends, he laughed and gleed**

**But something was missing, his heart continued to bleed **

**"I want revenge," said the boy, "to all who bullied me set fire to their houses!"**

**So the Monster did, and watched, as chaos arouses **

**The boy laughed with his new friends, hearing their pleasure **

**"Only truth remains! I don't care if I'm not what I once were!" **

**The Monster smirked at the boy, "What more do you want? Surely, that is not all?" **

**"I can give you fortune, fame, a castle with your name on the wall!" **

**The boy grinned, "That is what I want. A name," he exclaimed. **

**"A name that sets me above all others that is not the same!" **

**The Monster granted his wish and stifled a chuckle**

**As the boy bounced around, laughing as sweet as honeysuckle **

**"A name! A name! I am no longer just a boy. Nor the boy!" **

**"I am -! A name given for my deepest and dearest joy!" **

**"That is all? What more do you want?" The Monster asked with greed in his voice. **

**"I am all powerful, you know? Speak your wish, make your choice!"**

**- thought, he thought long and hard, until it came to him**

**The wish he wanted most of all.**

**"I want to be the Monster! All powerful and strong!" **

**"I'll be higher than the King of Kings! No one will ever think me wrong!" **

**"Dear boy," spoke the Monster, "that wish I cannot grant because that wish is you." **

**- was confused. What did he mean? Then he looked to himself and, horrified, found it was true**

**"I'm higher than the King of Kings! More valuable than a religion's God!"**

**- spoke and he spoke high. His life, his purpose was as clear as a fraud **

**"Monster, grant me one more wish! For a wish I command!"**

**"Give me the rest of my friends! Give them to me as my final demand!"**

**So - was given a nose, arms, legs, and hair. With his wish granted, he was whole **

**"Thank you, Monster. Your wishes are blessings and you've played your role..." **

**The Monster cackled, "Nothing more to do, but wait for you soon." **

**"We'll meet again and when that times comes. Be prepared for you'll be dancing to my tune."**

**The boy nodded and walked into the world, revealing his wholeness in the sun**

**People praised his looks as the boy made his sorrowful bet and won**

**The Monster had long since left the world, all traces of him gone**

**The Boy no longer cared. He really didn't as he bled out to his perfect dawn...**

"What the hell kind of book was that?" Breda asked, hysterical.

"Apparently," Riza mused as she closed the book, "a children's book. The same one that was in your body, sir." She stared at Roy with concern as her superior held his hand out and asked to see the accursed book. Riza gave the book to Roy and watched as he flipped through it, Hohenheim looking from over his shoulders as they both observed the pictures of the demented children's book.

Hohenheim gasped. "This book..."

"You know of it?" Roy asked.

"No. Not this copy, but during my Project Phoenix days we gave our test subjects books, specifically children's books, for them to read."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Why? Why children's books anyways?"

"Well, since our subjects had lost the majority of their memories and therefore their very personalities and lives. We thought it would be good, for the sake of progress, to give the subjects children's books that had characters that were similar to themselves. In a way, it allowed them to keep small aspects of themselves but also molded them into new people."

"But who's book is this?" Fury asked, concern dripping from his face.

Roy thought this through. The obvious choice would be Edward but... what if that was what Ed wanted him to think?

Roy sighed and pinched the bridge between his eyes. Ed was really starting to piss Roy off now. Releasing the pent up tension inside of him, Roy said without thinking, "It has to be Ed's..."

"Yet, the character doesn't relate to him," Riza spoke up.

"The Boy or the Monster?" Al suddenly had all eyes on him. He glared down at the floor and groaned. "Colonel Mustsng, can you read it again please?"

Roy thought about this and nodded. "Of course:

**In a land far away, a boy lived in disgrace and humiliation**

**The boy was shunned by his village and driven out to live in the forest.**

**The boy cried and cried. "Oh why! Oh why! Why must I suffer!" The boy cried to the Midnight Moon.**

**The Midnight Moon looked down at the boy. It didn't care for the boy either…**

**Something had heard the boy's cries and confronted him**

**And thus the boy encountered the Monster.**

**The Monster stared at the boy, stared at him with interest**

**"Was it it you want? Was is it you want best?"**

**The boy smiled and pointed to his heart**

**"I want friends! Someone to share my pain at my part."**

**The Monster granted his wish and gave him two ears**

**"Two friends for them to hear! Two friends for you to hold dear."**

**The boy smiled. Hearing his friends, he laughed and gleed**

**But something was missing, his heart continued to bleed **

**"I want revenge," said the boy, "to all who bullied me set fire to their houses!"**

**So the Monster did, and watched, as chaos arouses **

**The boy laughed with his new friends, hearing their pleasure **

**"Only truth remains! I don't care if I'm not what I once were!"**

"Right there!" Al suddenly said, catching everyone by surprise. "When the boy asked for the destruction of everyone who terrorized him... isn't that the same as Ed wanting to kill off all of the scientists who made him this way?"

Immediately, a spark ignited in the room.

"Yes..." Hohenheim murmured. "Or it could be him burning down the hospital..."

"The boy said he is not what he once was..." Falmon muttered.

"Maybe he meant that... for Edward... there was no turning back now..." Fury stated.

"Now that does sound a little like Brother," Al said, "maybe the book does have a connection with him..."

Suddenly, a soldier burst through the doors of the colonel's office and saluted him. "Sir! Have you heard the news?"

Roy, taken by surprise, stammered, "What is it, soldier?"

Dropping his salute, the soldier smiled brightly and exclaimed, "Everyone's talking about it! The Fullmetal Alchemist is back!"

Roy pretended to be shocked, the same went for everyone. "He's back? How do you know?"

"A unit down at Central Train Station saw him! With a girl no less!"

"A girl? What did she look like?"

"Beautiful from what I've heard," the soldier smirked, "they both headed out on a train to East City!"

"Th-that's great. Thank you for informing me," Roy said as he dismissed the soldier. The man left.

"So now everyone knows that Edward is alive and back from his 'kidnapping'..." Breda muttered. "This'll be hard..."

"But no one knows what he did to Central Hospital..." Armstrong said.

"And if someone finds out, there will be a panic." Riza added.

Suddenly, Roy dropped the book as he realized something terrible. While his subordinates were talking amongst themselves, Roy had been re-reading the story to himself over and over again.

"Mustang?" Hohenheim mused, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Trigham."

"Nash Trigham?"

"No... no..." Roy said a bit more boldly as his eyes deadened. "His sons. Russell and Fletcher Trigham. Ed's after them!"

Al immediately spoke up. "We have to help them! We have to go now!"

Roy desperately controlled the panic that rose inside of him as he thought of a new idea. "This is the perfect opportunity to get what information we need. Sergeants Breda, Fury, and Falmon, I want you all to go to Lior-"

"Why Lior, sir?" Fury asked.

"That's where the original Grand Event had taken place," Hohenheim filled in, "I believe, if I remember correctly, that the Grand Event to place in an old estate... it was at the edge of Lior."

"Is there a name we can look for?" Breda asked.

Hohenheim thought about this and rubbed his chin. "It starts with an 'S'..."

"Thank you for your advice," Falmon deadpinned.

"Anyways," Roy interjected, "Lieutenant Havoc and Armstrong, you both come with me to East City to rescue the Trigham brothers and secure Edward."

"Yes sir!" Havoc and Armstrong both said.

"Al, Lieutenant Hawkeye, and Hohenheim, I need you all to stay here and research more information on both Grand Events... and try to decipher exactly what this twisted book entails..."

"Yes sir," Riza said. Al didn't say anything but his eyes darted away from Roy's as he mumbled something under his breath. Hohenheim seemed to notice this and sighed.

"Alright then," Roy said, grabbing his coat and quickly shoved it on. "Depart."

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><p>"It's funny, Russell, it's really funny how you suspected the issue but didn't do a thing about it," Edward's voice caressed through the air as he stared blankly down at the restrained and naked Russell. His eyes seemed to bore into the teenager with pregnant concern.<p>

Around Russell was a transmutation circle Ed had drawn himself, but this one was obviously different from all the rest that Ed had made.

The older Elric smirked as he bent down, on his knees, and clapped his hands. "It won't hurt much, Russell, at least, not compared to what Phoenix is doing to Fletcher."

Russell unleashed a muffled cry from behind the tape that covered his mouth.

"Don't worry about anything. I'm a doctor," Edward gave Russell a crooked smile as his hands inched closer to the circle. Russell's eyes grew bigger with terror.

"And don't worry about the tape. You'll be screaming so much, it'll fly right out of the circle."

Ed brought his hands down on the circle and watched it glow a malicious red as Russell screamed in pain.

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><p><strong>Sorry if its choppy... need to get back into the edge of things before I write long chapters again :D anyways, thank you all for reading! But a SPECIAL thanks for all of you who kept faith in this story and waited for an update... you all make me so happy!<strong>

**Stay amazing out there!**


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